作者： admin

CARACAS – The Venezuelan capital awoke to a state of profound uncertainty Saturday following a dramatic overnight military intervention by the United States. President Donald Trump announced a large-scale offensive that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, an operation witnessed by residents near a key military airbase.

Local resident Vanessa Silva described being jolted awake around 2 a.m. by a massive explosion that shook her home in southeastern Caracas. From her window, she observed flames erupting across the runway at the adjacent military installation, though no personnel were visible in the immediate aftermath. The night sky was subsequently illuminated by repeated orange flashes and the resonant roar of aircraft circling the valley.

The morning brought an eerie calm to the streets of Baruta Municipality, where Silva resides. While queues formed outside petrol stations and supermarkets—a familiar sight in economically strained Venezuela—public transportation remained conspicuously absent. A pharmacy served customers through closed doors, potentially rationing supplies, while many residents opted to remain indoors, urgently contacting relatives abroad amid the crisis.

Information blackouts compounded the tension, with residents in parts of the city reporting electricity failures since the nighttime explosions, leaving them isolated from developments. For those with power, state television featured government loyalists decrying Maduro’s capture as an illegal kidnapping and demanding his immediate release.

The government has invoked a “state of external commotion,” declaring a national emergency that potentially suspends constitutional guarantees and freedom of movement—reminiscent of measures taken during the Caracazo riots of the 1980s. Venezuelan law imposes severe penalties, including 30-year prison sentences, for those supporting foreign military aggression.

The strike represents an unprecedented escalation in the long-standing tensions between Washington and Caracas. Despite recent incidents in the Caribbean and weeks of speculation about potential U.S. action, Maduro had maintained a visible public presence, including Christmas visits to slums and public demonstrations, creating an illusion of normalcy that was shattered by Friday night’s events.

WASHINGTON — The successful military operation resulting in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has been hailed by President Donald Trump and his administration as a significant foreign policy achievement. The action demonstrates Trump’s continued willingness to deploy U.S. military forces for high-risk missions with potentially substantial geopolitical returns.

The operation removed from power a South American leader repeatedly characterized by the Trump administration as an ‘illegitimate dictator’ and ‘narco-terrorist’ responsible for fueling drug trafficking networks affecting both the United States and Europe. President Trump described the mission as ‘a brilliant operation’ in remarks to The New York Times, later confirming on Fox & Friends that while some U.S. personnel sustained injuries, there were no fatalities.

However, the victory presents immediate challenges for the White House, including navigating the complex power vacuum in a nation already ravaged by hyperinflation, severe shortages of food and medicine, and massive brain drain despite its considerable oil reserves. The operation also raises strategic questions about how U.S. adversaries including China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin might interpret this demonstration of American military intervention within its sphere of influence.

This action represents another consequential moment in Trump’s second-term foreign policy, following June’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The Venezuela operation fulfills commitments outlined in last month’s National Security Strategy to assert U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, but has generated fresh anxiety among international partners adjusting to Trump’s unilateral approach to foreign interventions.

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies warned that the post-operation phase in Venezuela presents more complex challenges than previous strikes: ‘Unlike the Iran strikes where Trump did the action and then said ‘fight’s over,’ he will not have that luxury here in Venezuela.’

International reaction has been mixed. While European Commission President António Costa expressed ‘great concern,’ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasized that ‘principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected.’ France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot directly criticized the operation as infringing ‘the principle of non-use of force that underpins international law.’

Russia condemned the action as ‘armed aggression,’ while China denounced it as a violation of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty. Domestic criticism emerged immediately, with Senator Ruben Gallego calling the operation ‘illegal’ and declaring ‘we went from world cop to world bully.’

The operation culminated months of pressure within the administration led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other Maduro opponents. In South Florida—home to significant Venezuelan opposition communities—the operation was celebrated as a democratic breakthrough, with Representative Carlos Gimenez comparing Maduro’s ouster to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

With Maduro’s capture, the administration now faces critical decisions regarding Venezuela’s political future, including whether to support exiled opposition figure Edmundo González or engage with potential transitional arrangements. President Trump pledged his administration would be ‘very involved’ in ensuring Venezuela’s future leadership, stating ‘We can’t take a chance of letting somebody else run it—just take over where Maduro left off.’