Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been captured and flown out of Venezuela after the US carried out a large scale strike on the capital city of Caracas, US President Donald Trump announced. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a GOP senator that Maduro will stand trial in the US.
• Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said the government is unaware of the whereabouts of Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, adding the US attack has cost the lives of officials, military personnel and civilians across the country.
• A CNN team earlier witnessed several explosions in Caracas and reported some areas of the city were without electricity. The first blast was recorded at approximately 1.50am local time on Saturday (0.50am
Rubio says Maduro arrested to stand trial in US, according to US senatorThe US arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to stand trial in the US, according to a Republican senator who says he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee posted on X early Saturday.
“This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” Lee added.
“He anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,” the senator continued of Rubio.
CNN has reached out to the State Department.
Earlier Saturday morning, Lee had raised concerns about the strike, writing on X: “I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.”
The US only “partially” achieved what it set out to do by attacking Venezuela, the country’s Vice President for Policy, Citizen Security and Peace Diosdado Cabello said.
“What they tried to achieve with the bombs and missiles they launched, they only partially succeeded in doing. And I say partially because they expected the people to perhaps run wildly, cowardly. No,” he said defiantly, while speaking to security forces.
He insisted the country remains calm and knows what it must do moving forward.
