{"id":124778,"date":"2026-01-05T08:01:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T07:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=124778"},"modified":"2026-01-05T08:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T07:01:22","slug":"us-announces-drug-terrorism-charges-against-venezuelas-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/us-announces-drug-terrorism-charges-against-venezuelas-president\/","title":{"rendered":"US Announces Drug, Terrorism Charges Against Venezuela\u2019s President\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Lizzy Chirkpi<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The United States of America on Saturday announced drug trafficking and terrorism-related charges against Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, following what President Donald Trump described as a major U.S. military operation targeting the South American nation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that U.S. forces had carried out a large-scale strike in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThis operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Trump said he would address the development at a news conference scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (1600 GMT) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he is spending the Christmas and New Year holiday period.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to U.S. media reports citing administration officials, the operation was carried out by the U.S. Army\u2019s Delta Force, an elite special operations unit, which was tasked with capturing the Venezuelan leader.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Republican senator said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had indicated that Maduro would face criminal prosecution in the United States, where he was indicted several years ago. The senator added that Rubio \u201canticipates no further action in Venezuela\u201d following the operation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Trump administration has long accused Maduro of involvement in international drug trafficking and of collaborating with armed groups designated by Washington as terrorist organisations allegations the Venezuelan president has repeatedly denied.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The reported strike follows months of increased U.S. military activity in the region, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and other warships to the Caribbean.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In recent weeks, U.S. authorities have also seized two oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast, carried out lethal strikes on more than 30 boats allegedly transporting narcotics, and targeted what Trump described as \u201cthe dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Congressional sources said leaders in the U.S. Congress were informed of the operation only after it had begun. Members of the so-called \u201cGang of Eight\u201d including House and Senate leadership and the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees\u2014received notification once the Venezuela operation was already underway.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The claims of a U.S. military strike and the reported capture of Maduro have drawn swift international attention and condemnation, heightening global concern over the potential implications for regional stability and international law.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lizzy Chirkpi The United States of America on Saturday announced drug trafficking and terrorism-related charges against Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, following what President Donald Trump described as a major&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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