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Donald Trump crowed over the US military triumph in Venezuela on Saturday, but his sudden enthusiasm for intervention abroad puts him in a political minefield back home.Trump has railed against US entanglements abroad for years.When he branded the post-9/11 Iraq invasion “a stupid thing” a decade ago, he was setting out a central tenet of the nationalist, isolationist MAGA ideology that would win him the White House.So Saturday’s operation by special forces to swoop into Caracas and seize Venezuela’s leader Nicholas Maduro was doubly risky.The service members in the complex assault — including troops ferried in by helicopter, jets bombing sites around the city, and an armada of Navy ships off the coast — got away without losing a single soldier.But for Trump, the domestic political risks are only just starting.Not surprisingly, Democratic Party leaders swiftly attacked.The senior Democratic senator, Chuck Schumer, called the operation “reckless.””Second unjustified war in my life time. This war is illegal,” Senator Ruben Gallego, an Iraq veteran, said. “There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.”Many in the Republican Party that Trump dominates came out to applaud.The White House spokeswoman ramped up enthusiasm with a social media post in the early hours of Saturday featuring strong arm, fist and fire emojis.And Senator Tom Cotton was quickly on board.”I commend President Trump and our brave troops and law-enforcement officers for this incredible operation,” he said.Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives and a key cog in the Trump political machine, quickly sought to scotch questions over the military operation’s legality.”Today’s military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives,” he said.Johnson made clear there’d be no rush for Congress to meet and debate. Trump administration officials are “working” to set up briefings only next week, he said.- America first or Venezuela? -But there are signs of disquiet among Republicans.Soon after news first broke that the extraordinary raid on Caracas was underway, conservative Senator Mike Lee wrote on X that he was looking “forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action.”There had been no “declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” he noted.A short while later, Lee was back on team Trump, saying he’d spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and had been reassured that the operation was simply to execute Maduro’s arrest.That “likely falls within the president’s inherent authority.”But Marjorie Taylor Greene, a MAGA firebrand and longtime Trump booster who recently fell out with the president, was far less forgiving.In a long post on X, she ripped apart Trump’s explanation that the Venezuela conflict is about stopping narcotics trafficking.Most of the deadly fentanyl entering the United States comes via Mexico, she said, so “why hasn’t the Trump admin taken action against Mexican cartels?”Greene went on to pose a series of questions likely to be echoed across much of the MAGA base, including how to explain the difference between forcing regime change in Venezuela and Russian or Chinese aggression against Ukraine or Taiwan.”Disgust” with foreign interventions, spending abroad instead of at home, and “neocon wars” — “this is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end,” she wrote.”Boy were we wrong.”

In a wide-ranging press conference on Saturday, US President Donald Trump on Saturday explained the operation to extract Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from Caracas, said Washington would temporarily “run” the country, and warned neighboring Colombia to be wary.Here are the highlights of the press conference, in Trump’s own words:- On what comes next for Venezuela -“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.””The people that are standing right behind me, we’re going to be running it. We’re going to be bringing it back.” (Behind him were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, senior aide Stephen Miller, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and top US General Dan Caine)- On working with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez -“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, very simple.”- On Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado -“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”- On Venezuela’s oil industry -“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.””Very importantly, the embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect. The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until United States demands have been fully met and fully satisfied.”- On further US military action in Venezuela -“We are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so.””We’re not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to have. We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level, actually.”- On wider US plans in Latin America -“Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.””We want to surround ourselves with good neighbors. We want to surround ourselves with stability. We want to surround ourselves with energy. We have tremendous energy in that country. It’s very important that we protect it. We need that for ourselves.”- On Colombian President Gustavo Petro -“He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass.”

The US military operation that led to the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday sparked alarm across the international community, with allies and foes of Washington and Caracas expressing disquiet.US President Donald Trump said Maduro and his wife would be taken to New York to face federal charges after military strikes and an operation which he described as looking like a “television show”.The Venezuelan government decried what it termed a “extremely serious military aggression” by Washington and declared a state of emergency.Countries such as Russia and Iran, which had longstanding ties with Maduro’s government, were quick to condemn the operation but their alarm was also shared by Washington’s allies including France and the EU.Here is a rundown of the main reaction.- Russia -Russia demanded the US leadership “reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of the sovereign country and his wife”.- China -Beijing said “China is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the US’s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against its president”.- Iran -Iran, which Trump bombed last year, said it “strongly condemns the US military attack on Venezuela and a flagrant violation of the country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.- Mexico -Mexico, which Trump has also threatened with military force over drug trafficking, strongly condemned the US military action in Venezuela, saying it “seriously jeopardises regional stability.” – Colombia -Colombian President Gustavo Petro — whose country neighbours Venezuela — called the US action an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America which would lead to a humanitarian crisis.- Brazil -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slammed the US attacks as a “serious affront” to Venezuela’s sovereignty.- Cuba -Cuba, a strong ally of Venezuela, denounced “state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people”.- Spain -Spain offered to mediate in the crisis to find a way to a peaceful solution, while calling for “de-escalation and restraint”.- France -France condemned the US operation, saying it undermined international law and no solution to Venezuela’s crisis can be imposed from the outside.- EU -The EU more generally expressed concern at the developments and urged respect for international law, even as it noted that Maduro “lacks legitimacy”.EU candidate country North Macedonia, along with fellow Balkan nations Albania and Kosovo, backed Washington, however.”We stand with the United States and the Venezuelan people for freedom and democracy,” North Macedonia FM Timco Mucunski said on X.- Britain -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said all countries should “uphold international law” and added that “the UK was not involved in any way in this operation” as he urged patience in order to “establish the facts”.- Italy -In a rare expression of support for the US operation by a major European country, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — a Trump ally — argued the US military action in Venezuela was “legitimate” and “defensive”.- Israel -Israel also hailed the operation, saying Washington acted as the “leader of the free world”.- Ukraine -Ukraine — dependent on US support in its war against invading Russia — did not address the legality of a big country like America using military force against a much smaller one like Venezuela.Foreign minister Andriy Sybiga instead focused on Maduro’s lack of legitimacy and the Venezuelan government’s repression, while backing “democracy, human rights, and the interests of Venezuelans”.- South Africa -South Africa, which Trump accuses of alleged discrimination — and even “genocide” — of minority white Afrikaners, said: “Unlawful, unilateral force of this nature undermines the stability of the international order and the principle of equality among nations.”- UN -UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the US strikes, with his spokesman quoting him as saying it could “constitute a dangerous precedent”.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that US special forces seized Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro during a nighttime bombing raid on the capital Caracas and were taking him to face trial in New York.A months-long standoff ended swiftly and violently in a high-risk operation that Trump touted as an “amazing” success.US-backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, posted on social media: “the hour of freedom has arrived.”She called for the opposition’s candidate in the 2024 election, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to “immediately” assume the presidency.But the United Nations chief said he was “deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.”China, a backer of Maduro’s hard-left regime, said it “strongly condemns” the US attack, while France warned that a solution for troubled Venezuela cannot “be imposed from outside.”Caracas residents woke to explosions and the whir of military helicopters around 2:00 am (0600 GMT). Airstrikes hit a major military base and an airbase, among other sites, for nearly an hour, AFP journalists said.The bombing turned out to be only part of a more ambitious plan to topple 63-year-old Maduro and bring him to US soil to face narco-trafficking charges.A triumphant Trump told Fox News that US troops had snatched Maduro from “a fortress” and that no US personnel were killed, although “a couple of guys were hit.””I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show,” Trump said, expressing astonishment at “the speed, the violence.””It was an amazing thing,” he said.Within hours of the operation, Caracas had fallen eerily quiet, with police stationed outside public buildings and a smell of smoke drifting through the streets.- Maduro to New York -Trump said Maduro was initially extracted by helicopter and was being held on the Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship that is part of a large US naval presence in the Caribbean. From there, he will be sent to New York.Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife will face the “full wrath” of the courts on drugs and terrorism charges.Maduro — in power since 2013 after taking over from Hugo Chavez — long accused Trump of seeking regime change in order to control Venezuela’s huge oil reserves.Trump said the extraordinary snatching of a foreign country’s leader was justified because of his claim that Venezuela is responsible for mass death from drugs in the United States.What happens next in Venezuela remained unclear.”We’re making that decision now. We can’t take a chance at letting somebody else run and just take over where he left, left off,” Trump told Fox News. “We’ll be involved in it very much.”The US and numerous European governments already did not recognize Maduro’s legitimacy, saying he stole elections both in 2018 and 2024.But Trump did not say whether he wanted Machado to take over.- ‘They’re bombing!’ -Venezuelans had been bracing for attacks as US forces, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, massed off the coast.Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, situated in the south of Caracas, and Carlota airbase in the north were among the targets of the strikes.Francis Pena, a 29-year-old communications professional living in eastern Caracas, told AFP that he was sleeping and his girlfriend said: “They’re bombing!”La Guaira, north of the capital, where Caracas’s main airport and port are located, was also struck. “I felt like (the explosions) lifted me out of bed, and I immediately thought, ‘God, the day has come,’ and I cried,” Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of La Guaira, told AFP.The defense ministry accused the United States of targeting residential areas and announced a “massive deployment” of military resources.No casualty figures were immediately available.- Oil, drugs, migrants? -Trump has given a variety of justifications for the military build-up around Venezuela, at times stressing illegal migration, narcotics trafficking and the country’s oil industry, in which US companies have long played a major role.He had not openly called for regime change — likely mindful of his nationalist political base’s dislike for foreign entanglements.However, he told Fox News on Saturday that he had spoken with Maduro just last week and told him “You have to give up. You have to surrender.”Several members of Congress quickly questioned the legality of the operation. Trump’s key ally Mike Johnson, Republican speaker in the House of Representatives, said it was “decisive and justified.”As part of an escalating pressure campaign, Washington informally closed Venezuela’s airspace, imposed more sanctions and ordered the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil.US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September — targeting what Washington says are drug smugglers — that have killed more than 100 people, according to the US military.Among other international reactions, Iran, Cuba and Colombia’s leftist leader Gustavo Petro condemned the attacks, while the EU’s top diplomat urged restraint. Spain offered to mediate.burs-sms/des

President Donald Trump struck a triumphant note over the capture of Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, saying he had watched live as US forces seized the Venezuelan leader from a “fortress.””I’ve never seen anything like this. I was able to watch it in real time,” the 79-year-old Republican said in a telephone interview with Fox News.”I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show. And if you would have seen the speed, the violence.”Trump said no US troops were killed in the dramatic operation, adding that the Venezuelan president and his wife had been taken to a ship and would then be sent to New York, where they face drug and terrorism charges.The US president, who is at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, said he had spoken to Maduro a week ago and told him “you have to surrender.”He added that the United States would not allow anyone to take over where Maduro “left off” — while skirting around whether he backed Nobel Peace laureate Maria Machado to be the next president.Trump gave a detailed description of the operation that saw the United States launch airstrikes on Venezuela before special forces captured the leftist leader, in the climax to a months-long pressure campaign.He said that he originally gave the all clear for the operation to capture Maduro four days ago but that it was held up because of the weather, until Saturday.”It was just amazing,” Trump said. “He was in a very highly guarded… like a fortress actually. He was in a fortress.”It had steel doors, it had what they call a safety space where it’s solid steel all around. He didn’t get that space closed, he was trying to get into it, but he got bum-rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that.”We were prepared with massive blowtorches to get through the steel, but we didn’t need them.”- ‘Not going to be pushed around’ -Trump added that it was “amazing” that no US forces were killed, adding that a “couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape.”A US helicopter was also damaged but flown out, he added.Trump said the raid on Venezuela “sends a signal we’re not going to be pushed around as a country anymore” and warned Mexico that it too needed to crack down on drug traffickers.US officials joined in the triumphalism, while brushing off concerns about whether the operation to capture a foreign leader was legal.”You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas,” Vice President JD Vance said on X.He said Trump had given the Venezuelan leader “multiple off ramps” and added that Maduro was the “newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says.”US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores had been indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges including “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy,” conspiracy to import cocaine, and charges related to machineguns.”They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said on X.The indictment against Maduro was lodged in 2020 while the indictment against his wife was not previously known.Trump’s administration in August doubled a reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million, accusing him of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns” drug trafficking organization.Trump has given differing arguments for his campaign against Venezuela, including the claim that the country is a major drug exporter to the United States and that Venezuela seized US oil interests.Secretary of State Marco Rubio reposted a social media message from earlier this year in which he said Maduro was not the legitimate president of Venezuela following elections that international observers said were riddled with irregularities.The Maduro capture — along with US strikes on Nigeria on Christmas Day — also come despite Trump billing himself as a “peace president” who should win the Nobel Prize.Asked by reporters on New Year’s Eve what his resolution for 2026 was, Trump replied: “Peace on Earth.”

President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed the capture by the US military of Nicolas Maduro, as his attorney general vowed the Venezuelan leader would face the “full wrath” of American justice.Maduro and his wife both face drug and terrorism charges in the United States, which has waged a months-long pressure campaign against the leftist president.In a stunning denouement, the US army’s elite Delta Force snatched the Maduros as bombs fell on Caracas, US media reported, with Trump set to give further details in a press conference at 11:00 am (1600 GMT).”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 on Truth Social.”This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” added Trump, who is at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, near the end of a two-week Christmas and New Year’s vacation.In a brief phone interview with The New York Times, Trump said “it was a brilliant operation, actually.””A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people,” the paper quoted Trump as saying — adding that he did not answer a question about whether he had sought congressional approval.US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores had been indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges including “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy,” conspiracy to import cocaine, and charges related to machineguns.”They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said on X.The indictment against Maduro was lodged in 2020 while the indictment against his wife was not previously known. Trump’s administration in August doubled a reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million, accusing him of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns” drug trafficking organization.- ‘The tyrant is gone’ -The US military action was now complete with “no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody,” a senator quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying.The strikes on Venezuela were designed to “protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant,” said Mike Lee, a Republican initially critical of the operation, wrote on X. Rubio meanwhile reposted a social media message from earlier this year in which he said Maduro was not the legitimate president of Venezuela following elections that international observers said were riddled with irregularities.Rubio’s number two hailed a “new dawn” for Venezuela. “The tyrant is gone. He will now — finally — face justice for his crimes,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X.Trump has given differing arguments for his campaign against Venezuela, including the claim that the country is a major drug exporter to the United States and that Venezuela seized US oil interests.The US president said in December “it would be smart for (Maduro)” to step down and has also said that the Venezuelan leader’s “days are numbered.”But the Maduro capture — along with US strikes on Nigeria on Christmas Day — also come despite Trump billing himself as a “peace president” who should win the Nobel Prize.Asked by reporters on New Year’s Eve what his resolution for 2026 was, Trump replied: “Peace on Earth.”Trump’s claim of Maduro’s capture comes just two days after the Venezuelan attempted renewed engagement, offering cooperation on fighting drug trafficking and illegal migration.The capture of Maduro came — coincidentally or not — on the anniversary of Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega’s surrender to US forces on January 3, 1990. Noriega was then tried and jailed in the United States.It also comes on the anniversary of a US strike that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020, in Baghdad.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe.In a series of fast-moving events, Caracas was rocked by explosions, accompanied by the sound of attack helicopters, around 2:00 am (0600 GMT).The strikes, which targeted a major military base and an airbase, among other sites, continued for nearly an hour, AFP journalists said.”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 on Truth Social, around two hours after the attacks began.Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a post on X that Maduro and his wife would face “the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts” over drug and terrorism charges.Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau hailed “a new dawn for Venezuela,” on X adding: “A tyrant is gone.”The Venezuelan government accused the United States of an “extremely serious military aggression” and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said she did not know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, speaking to Venezuelan TV by telephone.  Rodriguez demanded that Washington provide “proof of life” of Venezuela’s leader of the past 12 years, whose re-election in 2024 elections was widely dismissed by the international community as fraudulent.Russia, a leading Venezuela ally, condemned the “armed aggression” and demanded “immediate” clarity about Maduro’s fate, its foreign ministry said in a statement.US Senator Mike Lee quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a call as saying that Maduro would “stand trial” in the United States, where he is wanted on charges of drug trafficking.Trump said he would give a news conference at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he is on vacation.Venezuelan opposition leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maria Corina Machado, had yet to react to the latest events.In a post on X on December 31, the US-backed Machado had expressed confidence that 2026 would bring “consolidation of our nation’s liberty.” – A ‘brilliant’ operation -Venezuelans had for months been bracing for attacks on its territory, following repeated threats by Trump to escalate his campaign against Maduro’s administration.Trump hailed a “brilliant” operation which involved “a lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people,” in a brief phone interview with The New York Times.Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, situated in the south of Caracas, and Carlota airbase in the north were among the targets of the strikes.La Guaira, north of the capital, where Caracas’ airport and port are located, was also struck. “I felt like (the explosions) lifted me out of bed, and I immediately thought, ‘God, the day has come,’ and I cried,” Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of La Guaira, told AFP.The government said Maduro had declared a state of emergency but the 63-year-old socialist, who as recently as Thursday offered to cooperate with the United States, was nowhere to be seen.The defense ministry accused the United States of targeting residential areas and announced a “massive deployment” of its military resources.Iran, Cuba and Colombia’s leftist leader Gustavo Petro condemned the attacks, while the EU’s top diplomat urged restraint in a call with Rubio.Meanwhile, Spain offered to mediate in the crisis in an attempt to broker a negotiated and peaceful solution.Petro said he was deploying troops to the border with Venezuela.No casualty figures were immediately available.Residents of Caracas rushed to their windows and terraces to try to make sense of events as the bombings began.Others hid in safe, windowless spaces, fearful of breaking glass.Some social media users celebrated Trump’s claims that he deposed the unpopular Maduro, while others rejected what they saw as Trump’s war-mongering.- ‘They’re bombing’ -Francis Pena, a 29-year-old communications professional living in eastern Caracas, told AFP that he was sleeping and his girlfriend said “they’re bombing.””I can’t see the explosions, but I hear the planes. We’re starting to prepare a bag with the most important things at home — passport, cards, cash, candles, a change of clothes, canned food,” Pena said.Trump deployed an aircraft carrier and several warships to the Caribbean late last year as part of what he initially presented as an anti-drug smuggling campaign.But in recent weeks, he has had made no secret of his hope to unseat Maduro from his position.On Monday, Trump said it would be “smart” for the Venezuelan to step down and announced that the the US had hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats.The Trump administration has also accused Maduro of heading a drug cartel.Venezuela rubbished the claims, saying Washington was seeking to overthrow him because Venezuela has the largest known reserves of oil on Earth.As part of an escalating pressure campaign, Washington informally closed Venezuela’s airspace, imposed more sanctions and ordered the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil.US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting what Washington says are drug smugglers, that have killed at least 107 people, according to the US military.

Donald Trump returned to office vowing to be the peace president. Nearly a year later, he is embracing war on multiple fronts.Trump on Saturday ordered large-scale military strikes in Venezuela and announced that leftist leader Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country.The raid to kick off the new year comes after the US military on Christmas Day hit Nigeria, in what Trump said was an operation targeting jihadists who had attacked Christians.And hours before the attack in Venezuela, Trump warned of another US intervention in a third region, saying US forces were “locked and loaded” if Iran’s clerical state kills protesters who have taken to the streets.The enthusiasm for war would seem at odds for a president who has loudly declared that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for supposedly ending eight wars, a claim that is highly disputable.In his second inaugural address on January 20 last year, Trump said: “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.”But soon after, Trump rebranded the Defense Department as the “Department of War.”Both Trump and his aides insist that military muscle is the path to real peace.”We’re making peace through strength. That’s what we’re doing,” Trump told a rally last month in Pennsylvania.”Peace through strength” was famously a catchphrase of Ronald Reagan, as he promoted a massive military build-up at the end of the Cold War, and was attributed to the Roman emperor Hadrian who built up defenses.But the strategy was generally understood as a way to prevent war from beginning.- ‘So-called nation-builders’Making his love of force even more striking, Trump has not only described himself as a peacemaker but has spoken for years against US interventionism.Declaring “America First,” he cast himself as a different kind of Republican than the party’s last president George W. Bush, whose administration he castigated as warmongers over the Iraq invasion of 2003.In a speech in Riyadh in May, Trump said that “so-called nation-builders wrecked far more nations than they built” and failed to understand countries where they intervened.In one key difference with Bush, Trump has made no pretense of long-term commitment. He last year ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of an Israeli attack as well as strikes in Syria in retaliation for the killings of US forces.But like Bush, Trump cares little about UN or other international conventions on war. The Trump administration argues that Maduro faced a warrant for drug charges in the United States, but Maduro’s government is a UN member, even if most Western countries consider him illegitimate following elections riddled with irregularities.Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat and Iraq war veteran, called Venezuela the “second unjustified war in my lifetime,” although he agreed Maduro was a dictator.”It’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year. There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela,” he said on X.In one irony, the latest Nobel Peace Prize, so coveted by Trump, went to Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whose name the US president did not appear initially to know.Trump, however, has won one peace prize since taking office.FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, presented Trump last month with a prize from football’s governing body ahead of the US co-hosting the World Cup.Infantino said that Trump, who has taunted migrants from developing countries and threatened violence against domestic opponents, was being recognized for his “exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world.”

President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a “large scale strike” on the South American country.Trump’s stunning announcement follows months of steadily mounting US military and economic pressure on leftist leader Maduro and his country’s oil-export-dependent economy.”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 on Truth Social.”This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.”Trump added that he would give a news conference at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he is nearing the end of a two-week Christmas and New Year’s vacation.In a brief phone interview with The New York Times, Trump hailed the “brilliant” operation. “A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people,” the paper quoted Trump as saying.The US army’s elite Delta Force unit carried out the operation to seize Maduro, CBS News reported. US officials did not immediately confirm the report.The US military action was now complete, with Maduro having been arrested to “stand trial” in the United States, a US senator quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying.”He anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody,” Senator Mike Lee, a Republican initially critical of the operation, wrote on X after what he said was a telephone call with Rubio.The Trump administration in August offered a $50 million reward for information leading to the capture of Maduro, whom it accuses of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns” drug trafficking organization.- ‘Justice for his crimes’ -Rubio’s number two hailed a “new dawn” for Venezuela.”A new dawn for Venezuela! The tyrant is gone. He will now — finally — face justice for his crimes,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X.The White House meanwhile reposted a video on X of Trump saying in October that Maduro “doesn’t want to fuck around with the United States.”Trump has given differing arguments for his campaign against Venezuela, including the claim that the country is a major drug exporter to the United States and that Venezuela seized US oil interests.The Republican leader has not explicitly called for Maduro’s ouster but the US government, along with many European nations, does not recognize the Venezuelan leader’s legitimacy. Trump said in December “it would be smart for (Maduro)” to step down and has also said that the Venezuelan leader’s “days are numbered.”The US president’s claim of Maduro’s capture comes two days after Maduro attempted to engage with Trump, offering cooperation on fighting drug trafficking and illegal migration.A huge naval and aerial presence has been established in the Caribbean, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and other warships.US forces have seized two tankers at sea as part of an oil blockade on Venezuela and killed more than 100 people in aerial strikes to destroy small boats accused of drug trafficking.Trump said on Monday that the United States had hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats, in what was the first known strike on Venezuelan soil of the campaign.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a “large scale strike” on the South American country.”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 on Truth Social, around two hours after explosions rocked Venezuela’s capital Caracas.There was no confirmation from Venezuela’s government of the fate of the leftist Maduro, in power since 2013.His government accused the United States of an “extremely serious military aggression” which follows a months-long campaign of increasing military and economic pressure by Trump.In a dramatic night of fast-moving events, Caracas was rocked by explosions, accompanied by the sound of helicopters, around 2:00 am (0600 GMT).The blasts continued for nearly an hour, AFP journalists said.Trump said he would give a news conference at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he is on vacation.- A ‘brilliant’ operation -In a brief phone interview with The New York Times, he hailed a “brilliant” operation which involved “a lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people.”Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, situated in the south of Caracas, and Carlota airbase in the north were among the targets of the strikes.AFP saw flames and huge plumes of smoke billowing from Fuerte Tiuna.Blasts were also heard in La Guaira, north of the capital, where Caracas’s airport and port are located. “I felt like (the explosions) lifted me out of bed, and I immediately thought, ‘God, the day has come,’ and I cried,” María Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of La Guaira, told AFP.”Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people,” the government said.The government said Maduro had declared a state of emergency but the 63-year-old socialist was himself nowhere to be seen.The defense ministry accused the United States of targeting residential areas and announced a “massive deployment” of its military resources.The leftist president of neighboring Colombia, Gustavo Petro, called on X for an emergency meeting of the United Nations and said he was deploying troops to the Venezuela border.As the strikes began in the dead of night, residents of Caracas rushed to their windows and terraces to try to make sense of events.Others hid in safe, windowless spaces, fearful of breaking glass.Videos shared on social media showed helicopters silhouetted against the night sky.Power has been cut in certain parts Caracas, according to residents.- ‘They’re bombing’ -Francis Pena, a 29-year-old communications professional living in eastern Caracas, told AFP that he was sleeping and his girlfriend woke him and said “they’re bombing.””I can’t see the explosions, but I hear the planes. We’re starting to prepare a bag with the most important things at home — passport, cards, cash, candles, a change of clothes, canned food,” Pena said.Trump, who deployed an aircraft carrier and warships to the Caribbean as part of what he initially presented as an anti-drug smuggling campaign, had repeatedly threatened strikes on Venezuelan soil.On Monday, he said it would be “smart” for Maduro, whose re-election in 2024 was widely dismissed by the international community as fraudulent, to step down.He also said the United States had hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats.Maduro had said Thursday he was open to cooperation with Washington.The Trump administration has accused Maduro of heading a drug cartel, but the Venezuelan leader denied any involvement in the narcotics trade, saying Washington was seeking to overthrow him because Venezuela has the largest known reserves of oil on Earth.In an apparent bid to force him out, Washington in recent weeks informally closed Venezuela’s airspace in recent weeks, imposed more sanctions and ordered the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil.US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting what Washington says are drug smugglers.The strikes have killed at least 107 people, according to the US military.