The Portuguese embassy in Caracas and the consulates general in Caracas and Valencia appealed to the Portuguese community in Venezuela to remain “calm and at home”,
The Portuguese Government told Lusa today that there is, so far, no indication that Portuguese citizens have been affected by United States air strikes against Venezuela.
“So far we have no indication that the Portuguese community is being affected”, said an official source.
The Portuguese embassy in Caracas and the consulates general in Caracas and Valencia appealed to the Portuguese community in Venezuela to remain “calm and at home”, after the United States carried out air strikes, particularly in the capital.
Donald Trump made the initial confirmation of US involvement in the attacks on Venezuela on the Truth Social platform, where he indicated that Maduro and his wife were “transferred out of the country” after “a large-scale attack”, in an operation carried out in conjunction with US police authorities.
Speaking to the New York Times, Trump celebrated “a brilliant operation”, about which he will give more information at a press conference from his residence in Palm Beach (Florida), at 11:00 local time (16:00 in Lisbon).
Hours before this announcement, the United States launched a series of air strikes against Caracas and the states of Aragua and La Guaira, in the vicinity of the Venezuelan capital, which the Government of Venezuela, in a first reaction, condemned as a “very serious military aggression against the Venezuelan territory and population”.
Colombia’s Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino, confirmed at least one attack “fired with combat helicopters” against the Fuerte Tiuna military complex, the most important in Venezuela.
Local media also report bombings against the La Carlota barracks and Higuerote airport, the El Volcán communications antenna and the port of La Guaira.
The “capture” of Maduro and the attacks by the United States on Venezuela ended up boiling over the high diplomatic and military tension that existed in recent months between the two countries.
Trump had ordered the deployment of warships off the Venezuelan coast, seized oil tankers leaving their ports and openly threatened to attack Venezuelan territory, under the argument of combating drug trafficking.
While Colombia, Cuba and Iran condemned the North American attack, the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, celebrated Trump’s announcement about Maduro’s capture through a publication on the social network X.
Milei, one of Trump’s closest figures in the region, reacted to the announcement of Maduro’s capture a few minutes after it was released on the Truth Social platform.
Milei and Maduro have maintained a strong rivalry since the far-right Argentine leader took office in December 2023, having carried out numerous confrontations, both rhetorical and diplomatic, over issues such as the detention of an Argentine police officer in Venezuela in December 2024, the expulsion of Argentine diplomats from Caracas following allegations of electoral fraud and the Venezuelan Government’s request to issue an arrest warrant against Milei, among others.
