Capturing Nicolás Maduro
On the morning of this Saturday, Donald Trump announced the capture of Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela, whom the U.S. government had pressured for months over allegations of his involvement in drug trafficking and illegitimate cling to power.
The U.S. military intervention took place during the early hours of January 3rd. It’s worth noting that Washington hadn’t carried out such a direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama to depose military leader Manuel Noriega, facing similar accusations.
“The United States successfully conducted a large-scale attack against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who was apprehended along with his wife and flown out of the country,” Trump stated on the social media platform Truth.
The Venezuelan government rejected the “military aggression” by the U.S., stating they were unaware of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores’ whereabouts, while affirming that the attack occurred in Caracas and other cities.
Trump’s Warning
A seemingly offhand comment by President Donald Trump, which he had been mentioning since late December, sparked speculation about whether U.S. tactical teams had set foot in Venezuela and engaged in firefights with alleged drug cartel members.
On the afternoon of December 29th, speaking to a group of journalists at his Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Florida, Trump’s words were more forthcoming:
“There was a big explosion in the area where ships are loaded with drugs… They load ships with drugs. So we attacked all the boats and now we’re attacking that area… That’s where they implement, and that no longer exists.”
The information provided by the U.S. president himself could represent what might be the first terrestrial attack in a military campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America. However, Trump did not specify whether it was a military operation or by the CIA, nor did he disclose where the attack took place. He only mentioned it happened “along the coast.”
As a result, CIA personnel disclosed to various U.S. media outlets that indeed, a drone attack was carried out against a port facility, which may have targeted members of the Tren de Aragua, a dangerous transnational criminal organization originating from Venezuela.
Among the initial reactions, it was said that an attack was conducted on a vessel of Venezuelan company Primazol, which distributes raw materials and chemicals, in the coastal state of Zulia, bordering Colombia.
Primazol issued a statement asserting that the incident at their facilities on December 24th was controlled by firefighters without any injuries and had nothing to do with Trump’s claims.
However, Héctor Soto, mayor of the Venezuelan municipality of San Francisco, where Primazol’s facilities are located, denied on December 29th that the fire was due to a purported U.S. attack.
Apart from the mayor’s statements, the Venezuelan government has refrained from making any declarations, and President Nicolás Maduro even avoided confirming or denying the alleged attack on the narcotics facility during his interview on January 1st. He only expressed openness to dialogue with Washington.
Colombia Supports U.S. Version
On December 30th, Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated that the U.S. had indeed bombed a cocaine factory in the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo, linking it to the Colombian guerrilla group ELN.
“We know that Trump bombed a factory in Maracaibo, where we fear they mix coca paste to make cocaine,” Petro said on X, without clarifying if it referred to the same incident announced by Trump.
Primazol Responds to Colombia
Following President Petro’s statements, the chemical distributor Primazol denied the next day that the incident at their plant had any relation to a U.S. attack in Venezuela.
“Mr. Petro, this isn’t here; we don’t pack or produce any type of narcotics,” Primazol’s head, Eduardo Siu, reacted on social media. “Please stop defaming our name and honor.”
The entrepreneur explained that the fire resulted from inflammable resins stored in a warehouse.
“We categorically reject all the false accusations that are defaming my name,” Siu added.
