• Source:JND

US President Donald Trump says the United States has struck Venezuela and captured its President, Nicolas Maduro. Trump said Maduro has been taken out of the country. The United States has not made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989 to depose military leader Manuel Noriega.

"The United States of America 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," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Who is Nicholas Maduro?

Maduro is the president of Venezuela. Maduro has been in power since 2013 and won a third term last year after a contested election.

Who is the wife of Nicholas Maduro?

Cilia Adela is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. She is married to the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, making her the First Lady.

Why did the US capture Nicolas Maduro’s wife?

First lady Cilia Flores has a long record as a power broker in Venezuela. In 2020, a report by news agency Reuters claimed that, with the help of a jailed former bodyguard, US prosecutors had planned to charge her with crimes that could include drug trafficking and corruption. The report also claimed Flores used her privileged position to reward family members with prominent and well-paid positions in government.

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Is Nicolas Maduro a Hindu?

Maduro was raised as a Roman Catholic. In 2012, it was reported by the New York Times that he was a follower of Indian Hindu guru Sathya Sai Baba and had previously visited the guru in India in 2005.

Earlier in 2019, Nicolas posted a picture with Hindu Leader, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

How did Nicholas Maduro come into politics?

Maduro has been in power since 2013 and won a third term last year after a contested election. The mustachioed Maduro, 63, a former bus driver, has presided over an extended economic collapse in the once relatively affluent South American nation, prompting an exodus of some 7.7 million migrants.

ALSO READ: Venezuela Declares National Emergency After Multiple Explosions Rock Caracas; Is Trump Behind Ground Operation?

The OPEC country has been governed by socialists for a quarter of a century, when the late Hugo Chavez won the 1998 presidential election.

Almost 82 per cent of Venezuelans live in poverty, with 53 per cent in extreme poverty, unable to buy even basic foodstuffs, a UN special rapporteur said in February.

What are the charges against Maduro?

Maduro often calls opposition politicians "fascist demons" and "the surnames," the latter a jibe at their supposedly wealthy backgrounds. Critics both at home and abroad say he is a dictator who has jailed or persecuted political opponents, repeatedly and unfairly blocking opposition candidates from participating in elections.

Maduro denies those charges. He has said he will usher in peace and a new period of growth that will mean the economy will no longer depend on oil income.

(With inputs from agencies)

 


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