DANIEL ESTRIN, HOST:
President Trump says the U.S. has captured the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. After explosions rocked Venezuela's capital, Caracas, overnight, Trump announced the U.S. had, quote, "carried out a large-scale strike" against the country. Trump commented on the attack this morning on Fox News.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You know that we had nobody killed was amazing. I think we had nobody killed, I have to say, because a couple of guys were hit but they came back, and they're supposed to be in pretty good shape.
ESTRIN: On state television this morning, Venezuela's vice president demanded proof of Maduro's well-being. Venezuela's defense minister called the attack an invasion and called on soldiers to fight. We begin with the latest from our international correspondent in the region and from our White House correspondents. We will have updates throughout the hour.
The predawn strike on Venezuela came without a declaration of war and comes after months of escalating U.S. pressure. That pressure took the form of the largest military buildup in the Caribbean in decades, with aircraft carriers, 15,000 troops and dozens of lethal strikes against what the White House says are drug boats. Those strikes on boats have killed at least 115 people. We are joined now by NPR's South America correspondent Carrie Kahn in Rio de Janeiro. Good morning, Carrie.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Good morning.
ESTRIN: So President Trump said in a social media post that Maduro and his wife are in U.S. custody. What else do we know?
KAHN: 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.
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DELCY RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: She's demanding that the U.S. present a 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 narcoterrorism. 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 extrajudicial killings.
ESTRIN: Carrie, can we just start from early this morning, around 2 a.m. local time? What happened there?
KAHN: Sure. Reports started flooding social media with videos of multiple explosions throughout the city. And I spoke right away with a reporter, Vanessa Silva. And she actually lives right in front of the military airport, La Carlota, in Caracas. And let me just play you her first immediate reactions.
VANESSA SILVA: I just wake up with a strong noise, super strong noise. I see the explosion. It was in the middle of the runway.
KAHN: She says relatives throughout the city were also reporting explosions. And Caracas is in a valley, and so she said you could hear explosions echoing throughout there. And she said she was just terrified.
SILVA: The house wasn't shaking, but I was. And then I hear, like, airplanes.
KAHN: She says there were several fires on the runway, but they were put out quickly. But she could hear airplanes continuing to circle around the Caracas skies for hours.
ESTRIN: Wow. It's incredible to hear that eyewitness account from someone who lives right near the airport. What do we know about the targets that were hit?
KAHN: Beside the La Carlota military airport in the complex, a government statement was put out listing attacks in three other states, but it didn't go into details. And the defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, put out a defiant video statement this morning describing the operation. Here's a bit of that.
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VLADIMIR PADRINO: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: 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.
ESTRIN: And so what - tell us more about what reaction has been around the region in Latin America and around the world.
KAHN: It's been swift. Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, 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. Security Council. Trump allies in the region are praising the action. We heard from President Javier Milei 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.
ESTRIN: Carrie, briefly, what are you going to be looking for as the hours unfold and the days unfold ahead?
KAHN: 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 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, Padrino -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.
ESTRIN: And we will be coming back to you frequently. Thank you so much. NPR's Carrie Kahn.
KAHN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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