The Republican senator from Utah, Mike Lee, stated this Saturday that the Venezuelan ruler, Nicolás Maduro, was arrested by U.S. personnel and will be brought to trial in the United States to face criminal charges.
The statement was published on the social network X, shortly after the Venezuelan vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, acknowledged that the whereabouts of Maduro and the first lady, Cilia Flores, are unknown.
I just spoke with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. authorities to be brought to trial on criminal charges in the country,” Lee wrote.
According to the legislator, the military operation carried out against Caracas and other regions of Venezuela “was conducted to protect and defend those who were carrying out the arrest warrant” against the Chavista leader.
The senator added that the action "likely falls within the presidential authority under Article II of the Constitution of the United States," which empowers the president to protect American personnel from actual or imminent attacks.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government insists that it has not been able to establish communication with the president and has demanded "immediate proof of life" from both Maduro and his wife.
Rodríguez described the events as "an unprecedented imperial aggression" and directly held the government of Donald Trump responsible for what he referred to as "a kidnapping."
The U.S. attack, confirmed by Trump himself via Truth Social, caused multiple explosions in Caracas, Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.
The situation in Venezuela remains uncertain, with power outages, reports of bombings in military areas, and an ongoing national state of emergency. So far, Washington has not provided evidence regarding the detention of the Venezuelan leader.
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