What we know about the U.S. attack on Venezuela

US President Donald Trump said the United States had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after launching a massive attack on the South American country.

Trump said Venezuela’s leftist president and his wife were flown out of the country amid a joint military operation by U.S. law enforcement.

His comments came after bombings occurred early Saturday morning across the capital, Caracas, including at a military base.

The Venezuelan government has since demanded proof that Maduro is still alive. It also deployed armed forces and declared a national emergency.

Maduro’s arrest comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries, with Washington attacking ships in the Caribbean it said were being used to carry drugs.

US accuses Venezuelan president of Individuals are involved in drug trafficking and have emerged as illegitimate leaders, while Maduro accuses the United States of intimidation.

Here’s what we know so far.

Details about Maduro’s arrest are scant. Trump doesn’t say how Venezuela’s president is doing Where to be detained or taken.

Maduro was captured by Delta Force, the U.S. military’s top counterterrorism unit, according to BBC America’s news partner CBS.

Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida at 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT), where more details about the operation may be revealed.

Republican Senator Mike Lee, who spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said Maduro will face trial on criminal charges in the United States.

“Now that Maduro is in U.S. custody, he (Rubio) does not expect Venezuela to take further action,” Lee said, adding that the attack was “to protect and defend those serving the arrest warrant.”

At around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT), a huge explosion was heard in Caracas and thick smoke rose over the city.

Video of the explosion and helicopters flying overhead have been circulating on social media but have not been confirmed.

According to reports, the locations hit include the La Carlotta military airport in the center of the capital and the main military base in Fuerte Tiuna.

Surrounding communities were also without power.

It was unclear whether there were any casualties.

The Venezuelan government also said the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira were also hit.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the government did not know where Maduro and his wife, first lady Celia Flores, were and asked them to “immediately provide proof of life.”

The country’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez claimed the attack hit civilian areas and said the government was gathering information on the dead and injured.

He added that Venezuela would “resist” the presence of foreign troops.

The Venezuelan government issued an official statement condemning the United States for “extremely serious military aggression against the population of Venezuelan territory and civilian and military locations.”

It also accused the United States of threatening international peace and stability and described the attack as an attempt to seize “Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly oil and minerals” and to “forcibly undermine the country’s political independence.”

Immediately after the explosion, the White House declined to comment publicly.

But Trump later confirmed on his “Truth Social” platform that the United States was behind the attack.

“The United States of America has successfully launched a massive attack on Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured and shipped out of the country,” Trump wrote.

“This operation was conducted in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement. Details below.”

The US president described it to the New York Times in a 50-second phone call as a “brilliant operation.”

Asked about his vision for Venezuela, he said: “You’ll hear about all of this at 11 o’clock.”

Nicolás Maduro rose to prominence under leftist President Hugo Chávez and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). In 2013, he succeeded Chavez as president.

In 2024, Maduro was declared the winner of the presidential election, although votes collected by the opposition showed his candidate Edmundo Gonzalez winning in a landslide.

He has been at odds with Trump over the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants into the United States and the entry of drugs, particularly fentanyl and cocaine, into the United States.

Trump has designated two Venezuelan drug gangs – Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles – as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), claiming the latter are led by Maduro himself.

The United States is offering a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.

Maduro vehemently denies being a cartel leader and accuses the United States of using the “war on drugs” as a pretext to try to overthrow him and gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

In recent months, the U.S. military has also carried out more than two dozen attacks in international waters on ships it says are used to traffic drugs into the United States. More than 100 people have been killed.

News of the attack drew the strongest reaction from Venezuela’s long-time allies.

Russia accused the United States of committing “acts of armed aggression” that were “deeply worrying and condemnable.”

iranian The foreign ministry called the attack a “blatant violation of the country’s national sovereignty”.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the attack a “violation of sovereignty” in Latin America, while Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel described it as a “criminal attack.”

Meanwhile, Spain’s Foreign Ministry called for “de-escalation” and always acting in accordance with international law, while Germany and Italy said they were monitoring the situation closely.