(AP)
US President Donald Trump said he watched the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro live, describing the moment as “like a television show,” following what he called a “large scale” strike on Venezuela.Speaking in a telephone interview with Fox News, Trump said, “I mean, I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show. And if you would have seen the speed, the violence. We watched every aspect of it.”The US strike rocked Caracas early on Saturday. At least seven loud explosions were reported across the Venezuelan capital, with air sirens and low-flying aircraft adding to the alarm.Also read | ‘Subjected to criminal military aggression’: Venezuela govt after US attack — what we know so farFollowing the attack, Trump announced Maduro and his wife’s capture in a post on Truth Social. “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. This operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement,” he wrote.Trump called the operation a “brilliant operation” and said it involved extensive planning. During the Fox News interview, he added that the strike had been delayed for four days to wait for better weather. He also said there were “few injuries, no deaths on our side” and that he was now “making a decision on what’s next for Venezuela leadership.”The strikes follow months of American military buildup in the region, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and several other warships in the Caribbean. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also banned American commercial flights from Venezuelan airspace shortly before the explosions, citing concerns over “ongoing military activity,” according to AP.Venezuela’s government, meanwhile, declared a national emergency. President Maduro had accused the United States of “military aggression” against civilian and military installations across multiple states and called for the “mobilisation” of the population following the reported US attacks, AFP reported.
