The death count from Saturday’s invasion of Venezuela by the United States has risen to 80, a report by New York Times says.
According to the report, a senior Venezuelan official said
the casualties include civilians and members of security forces. He added that
the number could rise further.
Satellite image showing extensive destruction at Fort Tiuna, the headquarters of Venezuela’s armed forces, after the U.S. airstrikes | Photo: Vantor
Explosions had rocked Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, early
Saturday.
Hours later, US President Donald Trump announced on social media that his country had successfully captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Speaking at a press conference following the attack, Trump
said the US will take over the affairs of Venezuela until a political
transition is achieved.
“We don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get
in and end up with the same situation we’ve had for a long period of years,” he
said, adding that any transition “has to be judicious, because that’s what
we’re all about”.
Trump described the strike as “an incredible thing to see”,
saying no American soldiers were killed and no military equipment was lost
during the operation.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s defense minister, on Sunday,
reportedly rejected any notion that the US would “run” his country.
The White House said it believed that Venezuela’s
government, under the interim leader Delcy RodrÃguez, would fall in line and
largely comply with its demands after the capture of Maduro.
Trump repeatedly warned that the United States would take
fresh actions against alleged drug trafficking networks in Venezuela, saying
strikes on land would begin soon.
In October, Trump said he had authorised the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) to operate inside Venezuela to curb illegal flow of
migrants and drugs from the South American country.
The weekend strikes arrived on the heels of months of US
military buildup in the region.
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