DEPOSED Nicolas Maduro has been pictured flanked by FBI agents as he arrived on US soil with his wife after America’s stunning attack on Venezuela.
Footage showed a US federal airplane carrying the Venezuelan dictator and his wife Cilia Flores arriving at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York.
Maduro was seen being led in custody by dozens of FBI agents before his scheduled court appearance at Manhattan federal court.
He has been hit with narco-terrorism and weapons-related charges – and will now face a trial in New York.
The US military’s elite special mission unit launched a daring raid in the early hours of Saturday morning to capture Maduro and his first lady.
The pair were dragged from their bedroom from inside a fortified military compound after being captured by the US special forces during a large-scale operation in Venezuela.
Their exfiltration was part of a special military operation called Absolute Resolve supported by large-scale air strikes.
The pair were nabbed from inside a fortified military compound while Black Hawk helicopters pounded Caracas.
A blindfolded Maduro was pictured aboard the USS Iwo Jima – a huge aircraft carrier stationed in the Caribbean – as he was shipped off to New York.
The captured leader was seen wearing ear defenders and a thick black blindfold with a bottle of water in his hands. He was bizarrely in a grey Nike tracksuit.
Donald Trump shared the image just minutes before he announced the US would now run Caracas following the exfiltration of the Venezuelan president and his wife during a special military operation.
Trump insisted America had taken out an “outlaw dictator” with its lightning Venezuela strikes.
He told a stunned world the seizure of Nicolas Maduro and his wife was a blow against a “deadly narco-terrorist”.
The US President also declared: “Maduro sent violent criminal gangs to terrorise American communities nationwide.
A regime change in Caracas has been central to his view that Venezuela’s political reset is necessary to curb Russian and Chinese influence and unlock the country’s vast oil potential.
Trump says the US will run Venezuela until a “proper transition” can take place.
“We’re going to run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” he said during a press conference.
It is unclear how Trump plans to oversee Venezuela. US forces have no control over the country itself, and Maduro’s government appears to still be in charge.
By law, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez should take power, but there was no confirmation that this had happened.
On working with her, Trump said: “She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, very simple.”
However, Rodríguez said that Venezuela will “never be a colony of any nation” before adding that Maduro is Venezuela’s only president.
During a press conference, from his home at Mar-a-Lago, Trump detailed how the US military pulled off the raid as he spoke from his home
Elite US troops, including the Army’s Delta Force, created an exact replica of Maduro’s safe house and practiced how they would enter the strongly fortified residence.
The CIA had a small team on the ground starting in August who were able to provide insight into Maduro’s pattern of life that made grabbing him seamless, according to one source familiar with the matter.
Two other sources said the intelligence agency also had an asset close to Maduro who would monitor his movements and was poised to pinpoint his exact location as the operation unfolded.
Trump said: “Late last night and early today at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela, with overwhelming American military power.
“Air, land and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault and it was an assault like people have not seen since World War Two.
“This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history.”
He said the special forces managed to plunge Caracas into darkness by shutting off the capital’s power before launching the “dark and deadly” assault.
Despite capturing Maduro, Trump has warned the US is “ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so”.
“We’re not afraid of putting boots on the ground if we have to,” he said.
Maduro and his wife were indicted on several charges in New York, US Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed.
She said the Venezuelan president faces charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices as well as conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.
Bondi said: “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
The pair were flown out of the country and taken to USS Iwo Jima and are now on their way to New York.
Maduro could appear in court as early as Monday.
Trump has spent the past few months waging a “war on drugs” with Venezuela.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15727463/trump-picture-maduro-blindfolded-venezuela-dictator-capture/
