Numbers Are In: Here’s How Many People Died During U.S. Attack On Venezuela

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Anything coming from Venezuela at this point should be treated with a grain of salt.

Venezuela’s military officials have reported that 40 people were killed after the U.S. conducted strikes on Venezuela.

President Trump, in his own press conference, revealed that no U.S. service members died during the military operation.

The New York Times reported more details on the Venezuela death toll:

At least 40 people were killed in the U.S. attack on Venezuela early Saturday, including military personnel and civilians, according to a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports.

President Trump, speaking on Fox News on Saturday, said that no American troops had been killed. He suggested, however, that some service members had been injured. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said later in the day at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago with Mr. Trump that U.S. helicopters moving to extract President Nicolás Maduro and his wife had come under fire. He said that one helicopter had been hit but “remained flyable,” and that all U.S. aircraft “came home.”

In the immediate aftermath of the U.S. attack, details began to emerge of the death of a Venezuelan civilian in Catia La Mar, a low-income coastal area just west of the Caracas airport. There, an airstrike hit a three-story civilian apartment complex and knocked out an exterior wall early Saturday as U.S. forces assaulted the city.

The strike killed Rosa González, 80, her family said, and seriously wounded a second person.

In the afternoon, a government investigator was present in the area of the strike, interviewing witnesses and picking up projectiles.

Wilman González, Ms. Gonzalez’s nephew, said he ducked when heard the strike at about 2 a.m. but nearly lost an eye. He had three stitches on the side of his face.

Here is a video of some of the strikes:

The Department of War shared President Trump’s comments regarding the attack:

President Donald J. Trump today announced the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, following a successful overnight joint U.S. military extraction in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas.

“Last night and early today, at my direction, the United States armed forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. … It was an operation against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas to bring outlaw dictator Nicolás Maduro to justice,” Trump said during a midday news conference from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

The president added that both Maduro and his also-captured wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro, will now face criminal court proceedings tied to a 2020 indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice on multiple federal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.

Earlier in the day, Trump posted a photo to social media showing a blindfolded and handcuffed Nicolás Maduro in custody aboard the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima.

Labeled Operation Absolute Resolve, the joint military and law enforcement mission to capture the Maduros was the result of months of planning and rehearsal involving U.S. joint forces — including special operations forces — from multiple service branches. The military also networked extensively with multiple U.S. intelligence agencies, according to Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Our interagency work began months ago and built on decades of experience [with] integrating complex air, ground, space and maritime operations. … We watched, we waited, we prepared, we remained patient and professional. … This was an audacious operation that only the United States could do,” Caine said during the press conference.

He added that the mission to extract the Maduros — in which there were no U.S. casualties — was so precise that it involved more than 150 military aircraft from all across the Western Hemisphere launching in close coordination to provide cover for the ground-based extraction force in Caracas.

“Words can barely capture the bravery and the power and the precision of this historic operation, a massive joint military and law enforcement raid flawlessly executed by the greatest Americans our country has to offer,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who was also in attendance at Mar-a-Lago, told the media.

“What I witnessed last night was sheer guts and grit, gallantry and glory of the American warrior. … This is about the safety, security, freedom and prosperity of the American people. This is America first; this is peace through strength; and the United States War Department is proud to help deliver it,” Hegseth said of the mission.

With Maduro now out of power, Trump said the U.S. will oversee Venezuela until a safe transition to a legitimate replacement for the deposed strongman can be identified.

“We have a group of people running [Venezuela] until such a time it can be put back on track, make a lot of money for [Venezuelans] … give people a great way of life, and also [reimburse the] people in our country who were forced out of Venezuela,” Trump said.

The president added that, while it was his understanding that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was “just sworn in” [to the presidency] following Maduro’s ouster, Rodriguez seemed willing to work with the U.S. to achieve what’s best for Venezuelans.

“[Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio] is working on that directly. He just had a conversation with [Rodriguez], and she’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said.

Here’s Trump revealing that no U.S. service members were killed:

Backup here, if needed:

[H/T We Love Trump]



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