Photos show Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima
President Trump posted an image early Saturday morning of Nicolás Maduro, who was captured handcuffed and blindfolded aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
President Donald Trump on January 3 released the first photo of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after being captured in an overnight US military operation.
A photo posted on Trump’s Truth Social social media network shows Maduro wearing a gray sweatsuit, holding a water bottle, wearing what appear to be soundproof earmuffs and black eyes.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in an operation that also included attacks on targets in Venezuela, he said. Both men are named in a federal indictment charging them with a narco-terrorism conspiracy, a conspiracy to import cocaine, and two counts of illegal weapons charges. Trump said they would be taken to New York to face charges.
Trump told a news conference that the United States would “run the country” until there is a “proper” transition of leadership, but he did not elaborate on what the U.S. involvement would be.
President Trump said Maduro was photographed being held captive with his wife on the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship. They were removed from Venezuela by helicopter, he told Fox News.
“They’re on a ship and they’re heading to New York,” he said in a morning network appearance.
The explosion rocked Venezuela’s capital Caracas and other targets across the country in the early hours of January 3. Videos circulating on social media showed helicopters flying over Caracas and firing at targets.
