Trump: Venezuela’s Maduro

The night over Caracas was shattered by explosions before most people could grasp what was unfolding.

Soon after, Donald Trump declared success, announcing that Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, had been captured.

Fear, anger, and shock swept through Venezuelan streets as U.S. officials spoke of “justice,” while the country’s allies denounced the action as a criminal assault.

In the hours following the strikes, two sharply different narratives took shape.

In Florida and among Latin American exile communities, online reactions were jubilant. Many described the moment as historic, likening it to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of a ruler they blamed for mass suffering and displacement.

Trump’s supporters portrayed the attack as a precise and lawful operation, justified by presidential authority and long-standing drug-trafficking charges against the Venezuelan leadership.

Within Venezuela, however, the atmosphere was grim. A city already strained by shortages and blackouts now endured explosions and jet noise, while officials called for resistance even as uncertainty loomed over who truly held power.

As foreign governments either praised a “new beginning” or warned of blatant aggression, Venezuela’s future hung in a perilous gap—caught between celebration and outrage, with unresolved questions about legality, legitimacy, and human cost.