DANIEL ESTRIN, HOST:
Maduro is expected to be brought to the U.S. to face charges of drug smuggling and other crimes. NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre joins us now. Greg, good morning.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Daniel.
ESTRIN: Gosh, this happened in just a few hours. But after months of U.S. military buildup, fill us in on the latest.
MYRE: So the U.S. launched this operation in the middle of the night. Explosions rang out in the capital, Caracas. Helicopters were crisscrossing the sky. Photos from a military base on the capital or the edge of the capital showed smoke rising from a hangar. Residents in that part of the city said they heard many loud explosions early in the morning. According to the Venezuelan government, the U.S. military also struck in other parts of northern Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast.
And then a couple hours later, President Trump took to Truth Social. And he wrote, quote, "the United States has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country." Now, a U.S. official who's not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that the operation was considered successful and there were no U.S. military casualties. The president hasn't provided additional details. But as you noted, Daniel, he is planning a press conference or at least to make additional remarks later this morning.
ESTRIN: Do we know where Maduro is right now?
MYRE: Well, not exactly. We know he's being flown to the U.S., but not exactly where. Attorney General Pam Bondi said he'll face charges in New York. He was indicted on drug charges back in 2020. Utah's Republican Senator Mike Lee wrote on X that he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was informed that Maduro will stand trial on criminal charges in the U.S. Now, it's worth noting this has not been done with any declaration of war or congressional authorization of force. And Venezuela's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has been on TV demanding evidence of Maduro's well-being. And she said there have been casualties in Venezuela.
ESTRIN: Greg, with Maduro gone, who is running Venezuela?
MYRE: Well, it appears to be the vice president we just mentioned, Delcy Rodriguez, who would become an interim president, assuming the U.S. is - will allow her to remain in office. Now the country's defense minister says the country is under attack and has urged troops to defend the country. But at this point, the U.S. operation appears to be over, at least for now. But there's still the question about - what will many of the Maduro loyalists do? Will they try to stay and defend the country and the government? Will they flee? What will Venezuela's military do? We don't know. And we should also mention Maria Corina Machado. She's the Venezuelan woman who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize and has been an opposition leader. She left the country, so her exact whereabouts are not known, and it's not clear what role she might play.
ESTRIN: Are we expecting the U.S. military to play a further role?
MYRE: Well, at this point, we don't know for sure, but it - the immediate action appears to be over. Of course, the U.S. still has this large force that was being built up for months, basically since around August. We're talking about a dozen or more ships, including the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, perhaps 15,000 troops in the region. So we'll be looking to see if the U.S. continues with any action against drug smuggling boats, against oil tankers or if, in fact, this operation may be over.
ESTRIN: NPR's Greg Myre. Thank you, Greg.
MYRE: Sure thing, Daniel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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