President Donald Trump on Saturday struck a triumphant tone over the capture of Nicolas Maduro, saying he had watched live as US forces captured the Venezuelan leader from a “fortress”.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I was able to see it in real time,” the 79-year-old Republican said in a phone interview with Fox News.
“I literally watched it like I was watching a TV show. And if you would have seen the speed, the violence.”
Trump said no US troops were killed in the dramatic operation, adding that the Venezuelan president and his wife had been taken to a ship and would then be sent to New York, where they face drug and terrorism charges.
The US president, who is at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, said he had spoken to Maduro a week ago and told him that “you have to surrender.”
He added that the U.S. would not allow anyone to take over where Maduro “left off” — as he skirted whether he supported Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Machado to become the next president.
Trump gave a detailed account of the operation that saw the US launch airstrikes on Venezuela before special forces captured the leftist leader, in the climax of a months-long pressure campaign.
He said he initially gave the all-clear for the operation to capture Maduro four days ago, but it was put on hold due to weather until Saturday.
“It was just amazing,” Trump said. “He was in a very high-security situation […] like a fortress in fact. He was in a fortress.
“It had steel doors, it had what they call a security room where it’s solid steel all around. He couldn’t close the room, he tried to get into it, but he was bum-rushed so fast he didn’t get into it.
“We were prepared with massive blowtorches to get through the steel, but we didn’t need them.”
‘Not being pushed around’
Trump added that it was “unbelievable” that no US forces were killed, adding that a “couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape.”
An American helicopter was also damaged but flew out, he added.
Trump said the raid on Venezuela “sends a signal that we are no longer being pushed around as a country” and warned Mexico that it also needed to crack down on drug traffickers.
US officials shared in the triumphalism while allaying concerns about whether the operation to capture a foreign leader was legal.
“You’re not going to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas,” said Vice President JD Vance at X.
He said Trump had given the Venezuelan leader “several off ramps” and added that Maduro was the “latest person to find out that President Trump means what he says.”
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores had been indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges including “narco-terrorism conspiracy”, conspiracy to import cocaine and charges related to machine guns.
“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said on X.
The indictment against Maduro was brought in 2020, while the indictment against his wife was not previously known.
The Trump administration in August doubled a reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million, accusing him of running the alleged “Cartel of the Suns” drug-trafficking organization.
Trump has made various arguments for his campaign against Venezuela, including the claim that the country is a major drug exporter to the United States and that Venezuela seized American oil interests.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed a message on social media from earlier this year in which he said Maduro was not the legitimate president of Venezuela after elections that international observers said were riddled with irregularities.
The Maduro capture – along with US strikes on Nigeria on Christmas Day – also comes despite Trump declaring himself a “peaceful president” who should win the Nobel Prize.
Asked by reporters on New Year’s Eve what his resolution for 2026 was, Trump replied: “Peace on earth.”
