Venezuelan Official Confirms 40 Dead In US Strike: Reports

The US operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela early Saturday killed at least 40 people, including soldiers and civilians, reported The New York Times, citing an anonymous senior Venezuelan official.

Washington launched a large-scale strike in Caracas, capturing the sitting President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, before flying them out of the country.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were brought to New York and will face federal narco-terrorism charges in court.

US President Donald Trump told Fox News earlier that the operation caused only minor injuries on the US side, with no fatalities.

Trump called it a complex operation, praising the US military’s professionalism. “It was amazing to see the professionalism, the quality of leadership… To have a few injuries but no deaths on our side is really amazing,” he told Fox News.

“We were surrounded by lots of people, including generals, who knew everything that was happening. It was extremely complex, the whole maneuver, the landing, number of aircraft, helicopters, different fighter jets. They just broke in, into places that weren’t easy to breach,” he added.

Later, during a press conference in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said the US would run Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.” He added that the action aimed to bring “outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice.”

“We’re going to run the country until we can ensure a safe, proper, and judicious transition. We want peace, justice, and liberty for Venezuela’s great people. We can’t risk someone else taking over who doesn’t care about them. We’re there now and will stay until a proper transition happens; we’ll essentially run it until then,” he added.

Also Read: Secret Deals, Bribes And Cocaine Flights: The Explosive Case Against Venezuela’s First Lady

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves at around 300 billion barrels.

US-Venezuela tensions escalated through key events overthe period of time, including the 2015 sanctions, January 2019 PDVSA oil sanctions, followed by March 2020 narcoterrorism charges against Maduro with a $15 million bounty, which was later raised to $25 million in 2025 and then $50 million. The increased tariffs in 2025 on Venezuelan oil buyers and events like the ‘Southern Spear’ mission.

Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation named ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement.

(with ANI inputs)