Chapter 1: What led to the U.S. military strikes in Venezuela?
The United States has struck Venezuela, and President Trump says captured its leader.
Trump says President Nicolas Maduro has been flown out of the country.
Our reporters will have the latest on this extraordinary development. I'm Daniel Estrin.
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News.
After a months-long campaign to oust the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, President Trump says he's come through with his threats.
The White House called the strikes on the capital Caracas large scale.
The U.S. military has been expanding its presence in the Caribbean over the last few months. But what does it mean to capture a world leader? And when has it happened before?
We'll also hear what Venezuelans on the ground have to say.
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Chapter 2: What details are known about President Maduro's capture?
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The U.S. has bombed Caracas and other areas of Venezuela, and President Trump says the country's leader has been captured.
It comes after months of escalating U.S. pressure, sending troops and warships to the Caribbean. NPR's South America correspondent Carrie Khan joins us now from Rio de Janeiro. Good morning, Carrie. Good morning. So President Trump said in a social media post that Maduro and his wife are in U.S. custody. What else do we know?
Inside Venezuela, we've heard that confirmed by the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez. She's been on state TV via phone all morning. Here's some of that indignation from her that you were talking about earlier. She's been just saying this nonstop since the operation took effect.
She's demanding that the U.S.
present proof of life that Maduro is still alive, and she's asked the same for his wife. She's also said that she is executing Maduro's defense plans for the nation that she says were practiced and ready to go. Maduro has long faced U.S. federal charges for narco-terrorism. The U.S.
says he's involved in drug trafficking and conspiracy with the Cartel de los Soles, while the International Criminal Court is investigating him also for crimes against humanity, including torture and extraditional killings.
Kerry, can we just start from early this morning, around 2 a.m. local time? What happened there?
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Chapter 3: What was the immediate reaction from Venezuelan officials?
And the defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, put out a defiant video statement this morning describing the operation. Here's a bit of that. He describes U.S. helicopters firing missiles on what he says were not only military targets, but also civilian neighborhoods. But he did not provide any evidence from that.
And so tell us more about what reaction has been around the region in Latin America and around the world.
It's been swift. Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canal condemned the U.S. strike. He called it criminal. Colombia's President Gustavo Petro says his forces are being deployed to the border with Venezuela, and he's preparing for a potential influx of refugees from there. He's called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Securities Security Council, Trump allies in the region are praising the action.
We heard from President Javier Millet of Argentina, who celebrated the capture of Nicolas Maduro. He says liberty advances. He wrote that on social media. And curiously, though, we have not heard from the leading opposition figure, Maria Corina Machado. Remember, she just won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in Venezuela. She left Venezuela last month, and we're not sure where she is right now.
And we're waiting to hear from her.
Carrie, briefly, what are you going to be looking for as the hours unfold and the days unfold ahead?
Well, it's curious because we really want to see what's going to happen, who's going to step up in place. The vice president, like I said, has been on state TV saying that there are plans in place and she will execute those plans, as Maduro has said. But we really want to see what's going to happen with this. the structure and the military structures, particularly in Venezuela.
You know, it's not just Maduro who's the figurehead and the power in Venezuela. His military-backed regime relies on a network of officials accused of corruption and drug trafficking. And the defense minister who's been out in front of a lot of this, Vladimir Padrino, he's top of that list. And Venezuela also has vast support from Cuba, China, and Russia. So we're going to watch all of that.
And we will be coming back to you frequently. Thank you so much. NPR's Carrie Khan.
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Chapter 4: How did the Venezuelan public respond to the strikes?
NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez joins us now. Good morning, Franco. Good to be here, Daniel. Just bring us up to speed from your beat at the White House.
Yeah, I mean, I think what we've heard so far, especially from Kerry, I mean, this really just follows such a major buildup in U.S. military power in the region. As we've been reporting, the U.S. has been building up, including an aircraft carrier operation. other warships, thousands of troops. This buildup was first focused on alleged drug boats but more recently the U.S.
actually seized an oil tanker and then there was a land strike on a port in Venezuela. So the U.S. was already taking quite unprecedented action but this is quite a new development. I mean, for U.S. special forces to go into another country's capital and capture the sitting leader, take him out and bring him to the United States, that's really quite staggering.
Of course, as we just heard, the Venezuelan government is denouncing the strikes, and it's just bringing back such memories of the capture of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega by the George H.W. Bush administration more than 30 years ago.
So what are we hearing so far this morning from the White House?
Well, the president said the military operation was carried out in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement and that more details would be shared later at his 11 a.m. news conference, which he'll have at his Mar-a-Lago resort, his home. The White House has not responded to queries about where Maduro and his wife are being flown to.
But Trump did call the strikes a brilliant operation in a brief interview with The New York Times. Senator Mike Lee actually said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told him that Maduro would stand trial on criminal charges in the U.S. and that the, quote, kinetic action that we saw tonight was deployed to actually protect those executing the arrest warrant.
Lee also said that Rubio told him, and he posted this on social media, that he did not anticipate further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.
What exactly are the U.S. allegations against Maduro?
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Chapter 5: What were the international reactions to the U.S. actions in Venezuela?
I'm Daniel Estrin.
And I'm Aisha Roscoe. Elena Twerk produced today's podcast along with Nia Dumas, Fernando Naro, Dave Mistich, and Chad Campbell. It was edited by Hadil Al-Shauchi, Tara Neal, Dee Parvaz, and Andrew Sussman. Danny Hensel is the director.
Our technical director was David Greenberg, with engineering support from Zoe Vangenhoven, Jay Ciz, and Simon Laszlo Janssen.
Our senior supervising editor is Shannon Rhodes. Evie Stone is our executive producer, and Jim Kane is our deputy managing editor. Tomorrow on the Sunday Story, worried about political unrest, liberals in the U.S. are starting to buy guns. We'll dive into the changing face of gun ownership.
For all the breaking news like we had today and many other stories that open your mind, tune in to NPR.
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