The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, celebrated on Friday the successful military operation that culminated in the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, highlighting the strength of the U.S. Armed Forces, which he described as "the most powerful, lethal, sophisticated, and fearsome army on planet Earth."
"United States has once again demonstrated that we have the most powerful, lethal, sophisticated, and fearsome military on the planet Earth, and there is no comparison," Trump stated during his speech at the annual retreat of Republican members of the House of Representatives.
The leader, evidently pleased, assured that he followed the operation "in real time" and praised the performance of the U.S. special forces involved in the capture of Maduro, who was hiding in a military complex on the outskirts of Caracas.
"It was astonishing to see the professionalism, the quality of leadership... incredible," he emphasized.
“Nobody could have done it,” “nobody has our weapons,” said the president, while emphasizing that some fighter jets “we do not produce quickly enough” and promised to accelerate the production of the fifth-generation stealth fighter F-35 Lightning II and the Apache (Boeing AH-64), a twin-engine attack helicopter.
The operation in Venezuela, carried out by elite units of the Delta Force and commands from the Southern Command, took place in the early hours of January 3, following weeks of joint intelligence between U.S. agencies and regional allies.
Maduro was detained along with his wife, Cilia Flores, and several high-ranking officials of the Chavista regime.
President Trump used his speech to reiterate his commitment to the "freedom of Venezuela" and condemned "years of repression, corruption, and suffering imposed by a brutal regime."
He also thanked the American military for "bringing hope back to the Venezuelan people."
Trump's message generated immediate reactions in Latin America. While democratic sectors celebrated the end of chavismo, the allied governments of Havana, Managua, and La Paz labeled the operation as "imperialist aggression."
In Cuba, the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel and Raúl Castro confirmed the death of 32 Cuban military personnel who were participating in support tasks for the Venezuelan government during the operation, in which no Americans were injured, according to Trump.
The capture of Nicolás Maduro marks a historic turning point in hemispheric politics and represents the boldest military action by the United States in Latin America in decades.
Analysts agree that the operation consolidates and strengthens President Trump's image of power.
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