'Like a television show': Trump revels in Maduro capture

President Donald Trump struck a triumphant note over the capture of Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, saying he had watched live as U.S. forces seized the Venezuelan leader from a "fortress."

"I've never seen anything like this. I was able to watch it in real time," the 79-year-old Republican said in a telephone interview with Fox News.

"I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show. And if you would have seen the speed, the violence."

Trump said no U.S. troops were killed in the dramatic operation, adding that the Venezuelan president and his wife had been taken to a ship and would then be sent to New York, where they face drug and terrorism charges.

The U.S. president, who is at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, said he had spoken to Maduro a week ago and told him, "you have to surrender."

He added that the United States would not allow anyone to take over where Maduro "left off" -- while skirting around whether he backed Nobel Peace laureate Maria Machado to be the next president.

Trump gave a detailed description of the operation that saw the United States launch airstrikes on Venezuela before special forces captured the leftist leader, in the climax to a months-long pressure campaign.

He said that he originally gave the all clear for the operation to capture Maduro four days ago but that it was held up because of the weather, until Saturday.

"It was just amazing," Trump said. "He was in a very highly guarded... like a fortress actually. He was in a fortress.”

"It had steel doors, it had what they call a safety space where it's solid steel all around. 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."

Trump added that it was "amazing" that no U.S. forces were killed, adding that a "couple of guys were hit, but they came back, and they're supposed to be in pretty good shape."

A U.S. helicopter was also damaged but flown out, he added.

Trump said the raid on Venezuela "sends a signal we're not going to be pushed around as a country anymore" and warned Mexico that it too needed to crack down on drug traffickers.

AFP