Turkey on Saturday called for “restraint” on all sides following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces after a wave of air strikes on Caracas, warning of risks to international security and especially to stability in Latin America.
“We call on all parties to exercise restraint in order to prevent the current situation from leading to adverse consequences for regional and international security. Türkiye stands ready to provide any constructive contribution towards resolving the crisis in Venezuela within the framework of international law“, said a statement released by the Turkish foreign ministry.
“We are closely following the recent developments in Venezuela. Türkiye attaches importance to the stability of Venezuela and to the peace and well being of the people of Venezuela“, the official text continued, noting that the Turkish Embassy in Caracas maintains uninterrupted communication and necessary coordination with Turkish citizens residing in the country.
“Maduro will be taken to New York to face drug and terrorism charges“
Through his social network Truth Social, US President Donald Trump confirmed that his country had carried out a “large-scale” attack and assured that Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and evacuated by air out of Venezuela. According to Trump, both were ‘extracted’ and transferred by helicopter to a ship to be taken to New York, where they will face federal drug and terrorism charges.
“They’re on a ship but they’ll be heading into New York. The helicopters took them out,” Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox News, in which he expressed satisfaction that there had been no casualties among US troops. Trump also confessed that he authorised the operation four days earlier, but that it was delayed until this Saturday due to weather conditions.
Offering details of the raid, Trump described Maduro’s hiding place as “a fortress” with steel doors and a fully reinforced “safety space“. “He didn’t get that space closed, he was trying to get into it, but he got bum-rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that. We were prepared with massive blowtorches to get through the steel, but we didn’t need them,” he explained.
The US president said the operation in Venezuela against Maduro “sends a signal we’re not going to be pushed around as a country anymore” and warned Mexico that it must also step up its fight against drug traffickers. He also assured that the United States “will be involved in it very much“ regarding the decision of who will govern the country to prevent someone else from taking Maduro’s place, although he avoided confirming whether he would back Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado as a future president. “We can’t take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off,” Trump said during the interview, referring to the deposed Venezuelan president.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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