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UPDATED 10:32 CET: Message from Donald Trump posted a few minutes ago on Truth Social<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.<\/strong> This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 A.M., at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n UPDATED 11:50 CET: An hour ago, CBS News correspondent Jennifer Jacobs announced<\/a> that White House officials indicated that Maduro was captured by members of Delta Force<\/strong>, the Tier One Special Operations Group of the U.S. Army Special Forces. Thus, a considerable portion of the helicopters used in the operation would have been from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) \"Night Stalkers\"<\/a>, a special operations aviator unit.<\/p>\n UPDATED 12:10 PM CET: Republican Senator Mike Lee posted this message<\/a> almost an hour ago after speaking with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u201cHe informed me that Nicol\u00e1s Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States<\/strong>, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant<\/p>\n This action likely falls within the president\u2019s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution<\/strong> to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n UPDATED 6:28 PM: An hour ago, Donald Trump posted this photo of dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro after his capture<\/a>. It was taken aboard the US Navy amphibious aircraft carrier USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7). Maduro is wearing shackles on his wrists<\/strong> and protective eye and ear protection. Next to him is an agent from the DEA, the US Drug Enforcement Administration.<\/p>\n ---<\/p>\n According to CNN, the first explosions were heard in Caracas at 1:50 a.m. local time<\/a> (6:50 a.m. CET, Madrid time). In a message posted at 8:55 a.m. CET (Madrid time), Spanish correspondent David Alandete at the White House stated<\/a>: \"The White House, through a spokesperson, claims that Donald Trump gave the order in the early hours of the morning to attack several military targets in Venezuela.<\/strong>\"<\/em><\/p>\n Alandete added<\/a> that, according to the same sources, \"the order to attack was given by Trump several days in advance<\/strong>. The option of a ground strike was considered around Christmas, but was put on hold due to other operational priorities at the Pentagon and weather conditions that advised against immediate execution. The military command ultimately waited for a specific window, considered ideal to guarantee the success of the operation<\/strong>, before launching the attacks.\"<\/em><\/p>\n Below you can see some videos that are circulating about these attacks. <\/p>\n At 7:32 CET, MenchOsint released this video<\/a> showing at least 10 US Army CH-47 Chinook heavy transport helicopters<\/strong> flying over Caracas. This video is highly relevant because these types of aircraft are not used for mere air strikes, but for airborne assault operations.<\/p>\n US Army CH-47 Chinook (carry 36 soldiers) were spotted flying over Caracas. There are at least 10 of them.<\/p>\n US invasion has started. https:\/\/t.co\/fNtVuk5QjL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/xqwE1IBtCE<\/a><\/p>\n — MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) January 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n ![](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55021705104_033ff09fb7_b.jpg\")
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