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| ▲ U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the economy in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9, 2025, in this file photo released by AFP. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) US strike-Venezuela
(LEAD) Trump says U.S. captured Venezuelan leader Maduro in large-scale strike
(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in paras 2-3, 7-14)
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States has conducted a successful and "large-scale" strike against Venezuela, and captured its leader Nicolas Maduro, capping his administration's monthslong pressure campaign against the Maduro regime.
In a social media post, Trump made the announcement on the operation against Maduro, whom his administration has accused of drug trafficking that harms Americans. Maduro faces criminal charges in the U.S. of narco-terrorism conspiracy and drug importation conspiracy, among others, according to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Venezuelan government has declared a state of emergency, denouncing what it called an "imperialist attack," according to reports.
"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 wrote on Truth Social.
"This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement," he added.
Trump plans to hold a news conference on the matter at 11 a.m. (local time), he said.
In a phone interview with The New York Times, Trump touted the military strike as a "brilliant operation."
"A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
The U.S. attorney general said that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.
"Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States," she wrote on X.
"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."
Commenting on the capture of Maduro, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said that the "tyrant is gone."
"A new dawn for Venezuela!" Landau wrote on X. "He will now -- finally -- face justice for his crimes."
In the lead-up to the military strike, the Trump administration had been ratcheting up pressure against the Maduro government for months through airstrikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers, and other measures.
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