NEW YORK, January 7. /TASS/. US special forces inflicted minor injuries on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores during a raid on their residence in Caracas, NBC News TV channel reported citing sources.
According to their information, US Delta special forces used flash bangs while trying to break into Maduro's house, as a result of which the Venezuelan leader and his wife "were either bruised or bleeding after apparently having bumped into the wall or the door of the safe room within their compound."
Maduro and Flores received a medical evaluation aboard the plane that transported them to the US National Guard base north of New York, NBC reported. It is noted that in the first photo after the detention, the wife of the Venezuelan president appeared with a bruise on her face.
On January 3, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said that the United States had struck civilian and military facilities in Caracas, describing Washington’s actions as military aggression. A state of emergency was declared in Venezuela. Trump later confirmed the strikes and announced the seizure and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife from the country.
They were taken to the United States and held at a detention facility in Brooklyn, southern New York. On January 5, Maduro and his wife appeared before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. US authorities accuse them of involvement in drug trafficking, allegations both defendants have denied.
Trump also claimed that the United States would assume interim governance of Venezuela. In addition, the US president expressed confidence that Washington would secure compensation from Caracas for US oil companies. Trump said Venezuela's interim government would be "turning over" between 30 and 50 million barrels of "high quality" oil to the US.