China ‘deeply shocked’ by US attack on Venezuela
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife will face charges in New York; US President Donald Trump says ‘much larger attack’ still possible.
US military strikes hit Venezuela’s capital before dawn on Saturday, shaking Caracas as US President Donald Trump reported that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and taken out of the country by US forces.
The attack followed months of US sabre rattling and Chinese warnings over growing US military and economic pressure on its oil-producing ally. It also came hours after Maduro met China’s special representative on Latin American affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, in Caracas.
“This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history,” Trump crowed at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “No nation could do what America did.”
Trump said the US neutralized Venezuelan forces “in the dark of night” after degrading local power systems “due to a certain expertise we have”.
Trump, a president who campaigned against America’s occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, said US forces would remain in place for the foreseeable future, adding that US oil companies would “spend billions” upgrading the nation’s oil infrastructure.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” he added in a meandering press conference that badmouthed former US presidents and touted his efforts to fight the Los Angeles fires and bomb Iran.