At least 40 people including civilians in Venezuela killed in US attack: Report

A senior Venezuelan official told the New York Times that at least 40 people in Venezuela were killed in Saturday’s attack, including military personnel and civilians.

In the aftermath of the attack conducted by the United States, details emerged on the dead and injured Venezuelans. An airstrike hit a three-story apartment complex and demolished an exterior wall early Saturday, killing Rosa González (80), her family said in a statement. The strike seriously wounded a second person.

The residents said that four men had tried to rescue Rosa González after the airstrike. They carried her onto a motorbike and took her to a hospital, but she was declared dead on arrival.

The death of a Venezuelan civilian in Catia La Mar, a low-income coastal area just west of the Caracas airport was also reported soon.

A 70-year-old man named Jorge who declined to give his last name, said he lost everything in the airstrike.

One man, who gave his name as Javier, blamed greed for the attack on Venezuela, an apparent reference to the Trump administration’s desire to let American companies take control of oil fields in Venezuela. The lives of people like him, he said, meant nothing.

The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a swift military operation on January 3. They flew him to New York City to face criminal charges. It was a result of a months-long campaign by President Donald Trump and his aides to oust the leader.

US carried out a military assault on Caracas, Venezuela's capital, after accusing President Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking. After the raid, Trump addressed a news conference, stating that US would run the country” until a proper transfer of power could be arranged.

After their capture, Maduro and wife, Cilia Flores, were taken by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima. Later Saturday, Maduro and Flores were flown to Stewart International Airport north of New York City. They were on the way to jail to face drug and weapons charges in federal court in Manhattan.

He said he was not afraid of “boots on the ground,” remaining vague on whether US would occupy the country. It was unclear how much power United States had over Venezuela, and no obvious presence of US forces in the country.

The New York Times reported, Gen Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the news conference that US warplanes had dismantled Venezuelan air defenses so that Special Operations forces could go into Caracas in helicopters to extract Maduro and Flores.

Maduro’s location in Venezuela had been monitored by a fleet of stealth drones as well as a CIA source within the Venezuelan government, according to people informed about the operation.

Caine said that the helicopters had taken fire from Venezuelan forces, but that none were lost. The whole operation lasted about 2 hours, 20 minutes, he said.

Trump said the Venezuelan military had been quickly overwhelmed. “They knew we were coming,” he said at the news conference. “Not a single American service member was killed,” he added, though two US officials said later that about half a dozen soldiers were injured.

(with inputs from agencies)