U.S. forces capture Venezuela’s Maduro, flies him and his wife out of the country

President Trump said on Saturday that the United States had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and was flying him out of Venezuela, in what would be a stunning culmination to a monthslong campaign by Mr Trump’s administration to oust the authoritarian leader.

Mr Trump announced Truth Social, his social media platform, and said that the United States had carried out “a large-scale strike against Venezuela” in an operation that was conducted “in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement.”

The government of Venezuela earlier accused the United States of carrying out military attacks on Saturday in the capital, Caracas, and other parts of the country, after large explosions were reported at a military base in the city.

If President Trump’s claim is true, the Venezuelan constitution states that power would pass to Nicolás Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who runs economic policy. But we are in uncharted territory, and it is unclear who would end up in charge. The United States has not recognised Maduro as a legitimate president, and Venezuela’s opposition says the rightful president is the exiled politician Edmundo Gonzalez.

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