Venezuela Raid: Trump shares first image of Nicolas Maduro aboard US warship

Washington: The first images of the US attack on Caracas have been revealed with Donald Trump sharing a picture of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro on board an American warship.

What did the picture reveal?

The picture showed the Venezuelan president handcuffed and blindfolded on the US Navy warship USS Iwo Jima. The ship is expected to reach New York by Monday.

What has Trump said?

"Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Talking to the media about Saturday’s attack, Trump stated that no American lives were lost in the operation. He informed that he watched the operation live, describing it as if he were watching a television show. He mentioned that it was dark is Caracas when the attack started and that the US forces had waited four days for clear weather before launching the operation.

Trump said that the American Delta Force first conducted an air strike on the Venezuelan capital, followed by an attack on Nicolás Maduro's residence. No American soldiers were harmed in the attack. Although there were attempts to target the American aircraft during the operation, everyone returned safely to American soil.

Trump revealed that US soldiers had rehearsed the raid using a replica of Maduro’s residence.

He informed that he watched the operation live, describing it as if he were watching a television show. He mentioned that the US forces destroyed the power supply in Caracas before the raid to ensure that it was dark is the Venezuelan capital when the attack started and that the US forces had waited four days for clear weather before launching the operation.

Earlier, following the airstrikes, Trump took to social media to announce that the US military has taken Maduro and his wife into custody.
 
"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country," Trump said in a statement on social media.

Trump also said that the future of Venezuela after this operation would be decided soon.
 
“The ‍United States is going to ‌be ‘very strongly involved’ in Venezuela’s oil industry in the wake of the operation ⁠to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas ⁠Maduro,” he said.

 “We ‌have the greatest ‍oil companies in ‍the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we’re going to ⁠be very much involved in it,” he added.

What happed during the US raid?

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured overnight from their residence inside a military base in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. They are reportedly being held aboard the US warship USS Iwo Jima and are expected to reach New York by Monday, where they are expected to face federal charges linked to an alleged narco-terrorism conspiracy.

Caracas was rocked by several explosions during the early hours of Saturday as the American military raid began. As the explosions rang out, residents ran out of their homes and gathered in the streets. The sudden blasts caused panic in the city and raised serious concerns about the safety of citizens. People sought refuge in safer places with their families. There was chaos in the surrounding areas.

Saturday’s military amounts to the removal of a sitting president without a declared war or full-scale invasion. This operation by the US military has few parallels in recent decades. This operation has been compared to the actions against Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. 
According to experts, Saturday’s events are comparable to the 1989 US operation to seize Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. Similar to Maduro, Noriega had claimed victory in controversial elections and was accused of drug trafficking by Washington.