In a stunning and unprecedented military action, former U.S. President Donald Trump has unilaterally ordered an invasion of Venezuela, resulting in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The operation, conducted overnight without prior congressional authorization or declared war, has thrown the hemisphere into a state of shock and escalating crisis.
Initial, fragmented reports from Caracas describe airborne assaults and targeted strikes on the presidential palace, Miraflores. U.S. Special Forces are confirmed to have secured the couple, who are now reportedly in American custody at an undisclosed location. The stated objective, according to statements from associates of Trump, was the “restoration of democracy” and the enforcement of long-standing U.S. sanctions against the socialist regime.
The international reaction has been one of universal condemnation and alarm. The United Nations Security Council is convening an emergency session, while leaders across Latin America, including traditional U.S. allies, have denounced the act as a blatant violation of international law and national sovereignty. Within Venezuela, pro-Maduro military units and collectivos are urging armed resistance, raising the immediate specter of widespread urban conflict.
In Washington, constitutional and political chaos reigns. The sitting U.S. President has yet to make a formal statement, but senior Pentagon officials and lawmakers from both parties are expressing fury, distancing the current administration from the rogue operation and questioning its legal basis. The move, executed by a former president with no current governmental authority, presents a profound and dangerous constitutional crisis.
Global markets are plunging on fears of prolonged instability and a potential regional war, with oil prices soaring. The situation remains extremely fluid, with the legitimacy of any successor government in Venezuela and the legal fate of the captured leaders now at the center of a rapidly unfolding global emergency.