The United States launched a direct attack on Venezuela and successfully captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
This announcement was made by US President Donald Trump himself, who said that both had been flown out of the country.
This move was surprising because the US had not acted like this in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama to oust Manuel Noriega.
Trump praised the operation as "brilliant" with careful planning and the involvement of elite military personnel.
The attack followed US accusations that Maduro controls a "drug state" and electoral manipulation. Maduro, who took power in 2013 to replace Hugo Chavez, had previously accused Washington of wanting to control Venezuela's largest oil reserves in the world.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement saying that they did not know where Maduro and his wife were after the attack. A US official confirmed that the arrest was carried out by elite special forces.
This announcement comes after several months of US military and economic pressure on Venezuela, including sanctions on the country's oil exports.
Ironically, two days before the attack, Maduro attempted to contact Trump to offer cooperation in the fight against drugs and illegal migration.
This situation raises serious questions about the direction of politics in Latin America. The US is now opening a new path of direct intervention that risks further heating up regional tensions.
From an economic perspective, the risk of disruption to global oil markets remains high as Venezuela remains one of the world's leading oil producers.
