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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reportedly made a statement on television and radio early Saturday as the U.S. strikes against his country unfolded, describing them as an “attack against the sovereignty of Venezuela.”
The remarks came before President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were “captured and flown out of the country” following a “large scale strike” carried out by the U.S. military. Attorney General Pam Bondi later said Maduro and Flores were indicted on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy.
In comments aired on state television and radio, Maduro alleged that U.S. forces attacked civilian and military sites in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas, as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, according to The Miami Herald.
“This is an attack against the sovereignty of Venezuela,” Maduro reportedly said as he stood alongside military and government officials. “It is an attempt to impose a colonial war and force political change by violence.”
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Maduro also described the U.S. actions as a “grave military aggression” and violation of the United Nations charter, adding that it threatened peace across Latin America and the Caribbean, The Miami Herald reported.
The U.S. has been carrying out a military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific in recent months.
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Maduro’s government cast the U.S. strikes on Saturday as part of a larger American effort to seize Venezuela’s oil and mineral reserves, according to The Miami Herald.
The newspaper reported that state TV broadcasted images of Venezuelan soldiers deploying to strategic infrastructure and officials holding emergency meetings.
As part of Maduro’s response, he also signed a decree that declared a nationwide state of “external disturbance,” which gives his government sweeping powers during emergencies, including mobilizing security forces and limiting certain civil liberties, The Miami Herald added.
