The Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken from their room while they were sleeping during the U.S. military operation that ended with their capture, according to the network CNN, citing two sources familiar with the mission.
According to the report by journalist Kevin Liptak, the incursion occurred in the early morning, when a team from Delta Force, the most elite special operations unit of the United States Army, stormed the residence where the leader was located.
The consulted sources stated that the couple was caught in their bedroom and arrested without any casualties among the U.S. forces.
The operation was part of a large-scale military action authorized by President Donald Trump to capture the Chavista leader, who has been accused by the Department of Justice of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and possession of military-grade weapons.
According to previous reports from The New York Times, the CIA had tracked Maduro's movements using a combination of drone surveillance and a source infiltrated in his inner circle.
Although the White House has not yet provided official details, Trump is expected to share more information at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida.
In Caracas, the Venezuelan government has acknowledged that "the whereabouts of the president are unknown" and has maintained the state of emergency declared following the airstrikes on military facilities such as Fuerte Tiuna and La Carlota.
The capture of Maduro marks the culmination of a crisis that has been brewing for months and represents an unprecedented blow to chavismo and its closest ally, Cuba, which controlled a significant portion of the Venezuelan security and intelligence apparatus.
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