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President Donald Trump has ordered a “full-scale strike” against Venezuela to capture its leader and transport him to the United States, where his administration plans to try him.
The US military’s Delta Force, an elite special operations unit, led the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a US official briefed on the matter told PK Press Club. The operation sparked reactions from political actors as well as sports figures with close ties to Venezuela.
Jhonattan Vegas, a Venezuelan golfer who competes on the PGA Tour, appeared to react to the events.
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Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela looks from the 18th green at the PGA Championship 2025 Wentworth Golf Club on September 11, 2025, in Virginia Water, England. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
“Long live Venezuela, DAMN IT ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL,” wrote Vegas on X in a message translated from Spanish.
Vegas, 41, is ranked No. 85 in the world. He had a historic run at the 2025 PGA Championship, becoming the first Venezuelan to lead one of the four majors.
Vegas finished 8 under par after the first 36 holes, putting him atop the leaderboard at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, in May. He ultimately finished the major tied for fifth place.
EX-ESPN STAR KEITH OLBERMANN CALLS FOR TRUMP’S DEMOCRATION TO FOLLOW STRIKES IN VENEZUELA THAT CAPTURED MADURO
Vegas first became interested in golf when he was just 2 years old.
“When I was a kid, I hit anything I could find. Rocks, a broom, everything,” he told reporters after the first round of last year’s PGA Championship. “I would catch anything I could throw and do it. I felt like I was a good athlete when I was young, so that’s kind of how things started.
Jhonattan Vegas lines up a putt on the 16th hole during the first round of the BMW Championship, August 14, 2025, in Owings Mills, Maryland. (Rafael Suanes/Imagn Images)
“We grew up near a nine-hole golf course owned by the oil companies, and we had access to a course and, along with my father’s love of the game, we put it together and started playing.”
As a teenager, Vegas left Venezuela and moved to the United States. He learned English and later took his golfing skills to the Texas Longhorns.
Vegas further cemented his name in history when he won the Bob Hope Classic in 2011, making him the first Venezuelan to win a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. He also represented his native country twice at the Olympics.
On Saturday, Trump described Maduro as being “heavily guarded” in a presidential palace that was “a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas.” Maduro had almost reached a secure room inside, Trump told reporters, although “he couldn’t close it.”
President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In an interview Saturday morning with “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Trump said U.S. forces were armed with “massive blowtorches,” which they would have used to break through the steel walls if Maduro had locked himself in the room.
