Trump: America arrests Maduro and his wife and takes them out of Venezuela after massive raids – Algerian Al-Hiwar newspaper

US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the United States had carried out a large-scale military operation inside Venezuela, which resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and their airlifting out of the country.

Trump explained, in a post on his “Truth Social” platform, that the operation targeted what he described as “the leader of Venezuela,” noting the success of the American strike, which coincided with powerful explosions that rocked the capital, Caracas, and a number of other states.

The US President also announced his intention to hold a press conference at eleven in the morning local time (16:00 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, to provide additional details about the operation.

For its part, the Venezuelan government, in a statement issued early today, Saturday, condemned what it described as a “very dangerous military aggression” launched by the United States, confirming that explosions had been recorded in Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.

The statement added that the authorities declared a state of national emergency and called on various social and political forces to activate mobilization plans to confront the current developments.

Speaking to CBS News, US officials said that the arrest of Maduro was carried out by the Delta Force unit, one of the elite special units in the US Army.

For his part, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced that Venezuela is witnessing a “new dawn.”

“A new dawn for Venezuela! The tyrant is gone. He will finally face justice for his crimes,” Lando said on the X platform.

US Senator from Utah, Mike Lee, said that the Trump administration had notified him that criminal charges would be brought against Maduro in the United States.

On the other hand, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in an audio recording broadcast on state television that the government does not know the whereabouts of Maduro or his wife, Celia Flores.

Rodriguez added, “We demand evidence immediately proving that President Nicolas Maduro and the first fighter, Celia Flores, are alive.”

In a recorded speech broadcast on social media, the Venezuelan Minister of Defense also accused the US army of targeting “residential areas” in its attack on Venezuela, announcing the implementation of a wide deployment of all of his country’s military capabilities.

Vladimir Padrino Lopez said, “The invading forces have desecrated our land… even targeting residential areas inhabited by civilians with missiles and shells fired from helicopters.”

He added that the authorities are “collecting data on the dead and wounded,” speaking about “implementing a wide deployment of all land, air, sea, river, and missile capabilities.”

Loud explosions and sounds resembling the roar of aircraft flying were heard in the Venezuelan capital