Washington / Caracas — President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that U.S. forces have captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, saying they were “captured and flown out of the country” following what he described as a large-scale U.S. military strike.

Trump’s statement came as explosions were reported in Caracas and other parts of Venezuela. U.S. officials told CBS News that the operation was carried out by the U.S. Army’s Delta Force, an elite special forces unit.

The operation followed months of U.S. military buildup in the region, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and multiple warships positioned in the Caribbean. In recent weeks, U.S. forces also seized two oil tankers off Venezuela, launched deadly strikes on more than 30 boats that the Trump administration said were carrying drugs, and targeted what Trump described as “the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.”

The Trump administration has long accused Maduro of drug trafficking and collaborating with criminal gangs designated as terrorist organizations — allegations that Maduro has repeatedly denied. On Christmas Eve, Trump declined to publicly state his objective but warned that if Maduro “plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough.”

The timing of the announcement was notable. Trump revealed the capture 35 years to the day after U.S. forces arrested another indicted Latin American leader — the late Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.

Noriega, once a U.S. ally and CIA informant, ruled Panama for much of the 1980s before falling out of favor with Washington amid allegations of drug trafficking. In late 1989, former President George H.W. Bush ordered the U.S. invasion of Panama. Noriega eventually surrendered to U.S. authorities on Jan. 3, 1990, after hiding in the Vatican embassy.

He was later convicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and spent 20 years in an American prison before being transferred to France and then Panama to serve additional sentences on money laundering and murder charges. Noriega died in Panama in 2017.

U.S. officials have not released further operational details regarding the capture of Maduro or confirmed his current location. Developments continue to unfold.

Credit: CBS News