MOSCOW, January 3. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump claims that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been captured and taken out of the country.
US forces attacked civilian and military facilities in Caracas, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said, describing Washington’s actions as military aggression.
TASS has compiled the key facts known so far.
What is known about Venezuela’s leadership
• "President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country," Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.
• Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is safe following the launch of the US operation against the Latin American country, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing sources.
Explosions and gunfire in Caracas
• At least seven explosions rocked Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, the Associated Press reported. The United States struck at least nine sites across Venezuela, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said. Among them, he named barracks in Catia-La Mar, an F-16 fighter base in Barquisimeto, an airport in the city of El Hatillo, the Higuerote military helicopter base, and the National Assembly building.
• According to Reuters, the explosions knocked out power in the southern part of the city, near a major military base.
• Witnesses heard explosions and saw smoke rising from the La Carlota air base and the Fuerte Tiuna military base, The New York Times reported.
• Residents of Venezuela’s capital reported hearing gunfire in several districts of the city, as well as in nearby localities, Bloomberg reported.
• During a nighttime operation, US armed forces struck at least two military bases in Caracas, as well as a communications center and a seaport, David Smolansky, a representative of opposition Venezuelan politician Maria Corina Machado, told CBS News.
• Targets hit included the Fuerte Tiuna base and the La Carlota military airfield in Caracas, the El Volcan communications center, and the port of La Guaira on the Caribbean coast.
Statements by Venezuela’s Foreign and Defense Ministers
• Venezuela has been subjected to military aggression by the United States, with civilian and military facilities in Caracas coming under attack, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said in a statement.
• Venezuela’s armed forces have been deployed to defend the country’s sovereignty.
• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has signed a decree imposing a state of emergency in response to the US attack, the foreign minister said.
• Venezuela reserves the right to lawful self-defense in order to protect its people and its independence, the statement said.
• US helicopters fired missiles in areas near residential neighborhoods of Venezuela’s capital, with the number of casualties still being clarified, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said.
US reaction
• The operation carried out by the US armed forces in Venezuela, including the capture of the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, was well planned in advance and "went brilliantly," Trump said in a brief comment to The New York Times.
• Trump said he would address the issue at a press conference scheduled for today at 7:00 p.m. Moscow time.
• The US Embassy urged Americans not to travel to Venezuela.
• The US armed forces confirmed that explosions had occurred in Caracas but said they had no comment regarding Washington’s involvement, a US military spokesperson told The New York Times.
• According to the newspaper, the White House declined to comment on the explosions in Venezuela’s capital.
• The US Southern Command declined to comment to TASS on the explosions in Caracas and referred the inquiry to the White House.
Russia’s reaction
• Staff at Russia’s Embassy in Venezuela are carrying out their official duties in full, Russian Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov told TASS.
• The US military aggression against Venezuela constitutes a gross violation of the UN Charter and poses a threat to international peace and stability, according to a statement by the Venezuelan Embassy in Moscow obtained by TASS.
• The statement emphasized that such actions "pose a threat to international peace and stability, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, and place the lives of millions of people at serious risk."
• There are "definitely no" organized groups of Russian tourists in Venezuela’s capital, Maia Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), told TASS.
• No passenger flights from Russian cities to Venezuela are scheduled in the coming days, a source in aviation dispatch circles told TASS.