President Donald Trump struck a triumphant note Saturday after the capture of Nicolas Maduro, saying he witnessed live the Venezuelan leader’s capture by U.S. forces 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 TV show. What if you saw the speed, the violence.”
Trump said no American soldiers were killed in the dramatic operation, adding that the Venezuelan president and his wife were taken aboard a ship and would then be sent to New York, where they face drug trafficking and terrorism charges.
The US president, who is at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, said he spoke to Maduro a week ago and told him “you must surrender.”
He added that the United States would not allow anyone to take over where Maduro “left off” – while questioning whether he supported Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Machado as 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 left-wing leader, in the culmination of a months-long pressure campaign.
He said he initially gave the green light for the operation to capture Maduro four days ago, but it was delayed until Saturday due to weather conditions.
“It was just incredible,” Trump said. “He was in a very guarded place […] like a fortress in fact. He was in a fortress.
“There were steel doors, there was what they call a safe space where there was solid steel all around. He didn’t close that space, he was trying to get in, but he got pushed around so fast he didn’t get in.
“We were prepared to use huge blowtorches to pierce the steel, but we didn’t need them.”
“I’m not going to be pushed around.”
Trump added that it was “unbelievable” that no members of the US forces were killed, adding that “a few guys got hit, but they came back and are supposed to be in pretty good shape.”
A US helicopter was also damaged but had to fly away, he added.
Trump said the raid on Venezuela “sends a signal that we’re not going to be pushed around again as a country” and warned Mexico that it must also crack down on drug traffickers.
U.S. officials joined in the triumphalism, while ignoring concerns about the legality of the operation to capture a foreign leader.
“You can’t escape 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 escape routes” and added that Maduro was “the most recent person to discover that President Trump meant what he said.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges including “narcoterrorist conspiracy,” conspiracy to import cocaine and machine gun charges.
“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 filed in 2020 while the indictment against his wife was not previously known.
In August, the Trump administration doubled the reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million, accusing him of leading the so-called “Suns Cartel,” a drug trafficking organization.
Trump has made different arguments for his campaign against Venezuela, including claiming that the country is a major drug exporter to the United States and that Venezuela has seized U.S. oil interests.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reposted a social media message from earlier this year in which he said Maduro was not Venezuela’s legitimate president following an election that international observers said was riddled with irregularities.
Maduro’s capture – as well as the US strikes against Nigeria on Christmas Day – also comes despite Trump presenting himself as a “peace president” who should win the Nobel Prize.
Asked by reporters on New Year’s Eve what his resolution was for 2026, Trump replied: “Peace on Earth.”
