By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – The White House on Sunday has taken a dig at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by the US Special forces in a midnight operation on Saturday, shared an old video of the Venezuelan leader.
White House wrote in a post on X “Nicolas Maduro had his chance until he didn’t. The Trump Admin will always defend American citizens against all threats, foreign and domestic.”
The video that accompanied the post shows Maduro dared Trump. “Come and get me,” he said in the video.
“I will wait for him here in Miraflores. Don’t be late, coward,” Maduro added in a fiery speech he delivered in August after the US increased the bounty on his head.
US on Saturday attacked Venezuela, captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their residence less than 5 months after his daring speech. The duo was reportedly dragged out of the bedroom and taken to the US.
Maduro is in custody now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.
He is expected to face serious drug trafficking and weapons charges in a Manhattan federal court.
Senior US military officials said the mission, codenamed ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’, was the result of months of planning and coordination, in a news conference.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Razin Caine described the operation as “discreet and precise,” stated that President Donald Trump authorized the mission at 10:46 pm Eastern Time on Friday night.
Over 150 US aircraft, including bombers, fighter jets, surveillance planes and helicopters, were deployed. One aircraft sustained damage but remained operational, and all US assets returned safely, media reports indicated.
Some reports suggested that Maduro had a mole inside his inner circle, who kept leaking information about his whereabouts to the US Special forces.
Trump last night announced that the US will “run” Venezuela until a safe transition of power takes place.
