Overview
- Powerful explosions between roughly 2:00 and 3:15 a.m. local time hit key sites in and around Caracas, including Fuerte Tiuna and La Carlota airbase, with helicopters observed overhead.
- Caracas declared a state of emergency, denounced a grave military aggression, alleged strikes near residential areas, and reported no confirmed casualty toll as the vice president demanded proof of life for Maduro and his wife.
- The U.S. Justice Department said Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are indicted in the Southern District of New York on narco‑terrorism and cocaine‑import conspiracies, with officials describing the operation as completed.
- President Trump and U.S. congressional sources said Maduro was arrested for transfer to U.S. custody, and Trump later said on television the couple was being taken to New York by ship.
- Russia and Iran issued condemnations, the European Union urged restraint, Spain offered to mediate, Colombia deployed forces to its border and prepared humanitarian support, and Venezuela requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting.