A night time military operation marked by the United States took place in which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was overthrown and flown out of the country, thus becoming the strongest US led regime change operation since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, were taken from their house on a military base, to a US warship, and finally flown to New York to be charged with narco terrorism. This made the revelation that the US was indeed considering such a move for several months and was also using various forms of pressure, such as the deployment of naval forces and the carrying out of airstrikes on drug smuggling routes.
Here’s What Trump Said About The US Really ‘Running’ Venezuela
A few hours later, President Donald Trump announced that Washington would temporarily ‘run’ Venezuela and take advantage of its huge oil reserves, thus promising to restore the devastated infrastructure and to sell massive amounts of crude oil to the other countries. ‘We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,’ Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference as per reports.
Operation Absolute Resolve
The operation was executed in the dark of night on Saturday, and the city of Caracas experienced a short but intense activity with explosions and low flying planes for about 30 minutes. Throughout the city at least seven explosions were reported which caused the people to come out of their houses while smoke was seen coming from the military and civilian areas. General Dan Caine, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, claimed that the American forces had practiced the mission for several months, monitoring the movements of Maduro and his security persons to guarantee quick and smooth execution. Even though Trump said that the US was already in control of the country, pro Maduro messages continued to be aired by the Venezuelan state TV and there were protests by the opposition in the streets.
The entire operation was a mere spark for legal and political controversies. Delcy Rodriguez, the vice president of Venezuela, asked for the freedom of Maduro, which she did not consider, and at the same time, she pointed out that he was still the rightful leader of the country. The unprecedented action of the US has not only shifted the focus on the matters relating to sovereignty, legality, the question of stability in the region, and Washington’s long term intentions but has also thrown Venezuela into a transition of a somewhat unstable nature.
Also Read: Operation Absolute Resolve: The US Mission That Rocked Venezuela, What We Know So Far
