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President Donald Trump ordered a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela to capture the country’s leader and transport him to the United States, where his administration plans to put him on trial.
The US Army’s Delta Force, an elite special operations unit, led the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a US official briefed on the matter told Pakinomist. The operation has drawn reactions from those in the political arena as well as sports figures with close ties to Venezuela.
Jhonattan Vegas, a Venezuelan golfer who competes on the PGA Tour, appeared to react to the events.
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Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela watches from the 18th green at the 2025 PGA Championship 2025 Wentworth Golf Club on September 11, 2025 in Virginia Water, England. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
“Long live Venezuela, DAMN IT ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL,” Vegas X wrote in a post translated from Spanish.
Vegas, 41, is ranked No. 85 in the world. He had a historic run at the 2025 PGA Championship, becoming the first Venezuelan to take the lead at one of the four majors.
Vegas finished 8-under par after the first 36 holes, putting him atop the leaderboard at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, in May. He ultimately finished the major in a tie for fifth.
EX-ESPN STAR KEITH OLBERMANN CALLS FOR TRUMP DIRECTION OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES THAT CATCH MADURO
Vegas first became interested in golf when he was only 2 years old.
“As a kid, I hit anything I could find. Rocks, broomsticks, anything,” he told reporters after the opening round of last year’s PGA Championship. “I wanted to grab anything I could swing and I wanted to do it. Felt like I was a good athlete as a young kid, so that’s kind of how things started.
Jhonattan Vegas lines up a putt on the 16th hole during the first round of the BMW Championship on August 14, 2025 in Owings Mills, Md. (Rafael Suanes/Imagn Images)
“We grew up near a nine-hole golf course owned by the oil companies and we had access to a course and, plus my father’s love of the game, put it together and we started playing.”
When he reached his teenage years, Vegas left Venezuela and moved to the United States. He learned English and later took his golfing talents to the Texas Longhorns.
Vegas further cemented his name in history when he won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic, making him the first Venezuelan to win a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. He also represented his home country twice at the Olympics.
On Saturday, Trump described Maduro as being “highly guarded” in a presidential palace that was “a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas”. Maduro had almost reached a safe room inside it, Trump told reporters, although “he wasn’t able to close it.”
President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In an interview earlier Saturday morning on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Trump said U.S. forces were armed with “massive blowtorches” that they would have used to cut through steel walls if Maduro had locked himself in the room.
