Pentagon chief reveals close to 200 US troops entered Caracas to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, captured over the weekend.
WASHINGTON: Close to 200 US military personnel entered the Venezuelan capital Caracas as part of the operation to seize leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.
US forces captured Maduro and his wife over the weekend, ending 12 years of increasingly authoritarian rule by the left-wing leader.
Washington had accused Maduro of running a drug cartel and placed a USD 50 million bounty on him.
“Nearly 200 of our greatest Americans went downtown in Caracas… and grabbed an indicted individual wanted by American justice, in support of law enforcement, without a single American killed,” Hegseth said in a speech.
He was addressing US sailors and shipbuilders in Virginia.
It was the first time a US official provided a figure for American forces who swooped into Caracas via helicopter.
The stunning operation also involved more than 150 military aircraft in various roles, including striking Venezuelan defenses.
Maduro, a self-described socialist, led Venezuela with an iron fist.
He maintained power through a series of elections widely considered to have been rigged.
He and his wife Cilia Flores both entered pleas of not guilty in a New York court on Monday.
