Washington, Jan 3: US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on federal charges including drug trafficking and terrorism. Bondi said Maduro would face the "full wrath of American justice."

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump claimed that the Venezuelan President and his wife have been "captured" and "flown out" of Caracas.

Taking to his social media platform 'Truth Social', Trump said, "The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country."

He mentioned that this operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement, and further details will follow during a news conference at 11 am (local time) at Mar-a-Lago.

Attorney General Bondi said that Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.

"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts. On behalf of the entire US DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers," Bondi wrote on X.

Venezuela Vice President Delcy Rodríguez had said earlier on Saturday said that the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife are unknown following the US attacks in Caracas, Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira in the early hours of the morning, local time.

Leading Venezuelan daily El Nacional reported that Rodríguez, in a telephone interview with Venezolana de Television, demanded proof of life for Maduro and Flores from the US government.

"Delcy Rodríguez called on the population to become active in a civic-military fusion to defend the country," the newspaper reported.

Quoting sources consulted by Fox News, El Nacional reported that the nighttime US military operation involved a large deployment of Chinook helicopters and other special forces assets.

Several large explosions were heard early Saturday in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.

The American media reported that Maduro was captured by a unit of the special and elite forces of the US Army's Delta Force.

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"Administration sources indicated that Trump gave the green light to the military attacks a few days ago, after several months of increased US military presence off the Venezuelan coast and calls from the White House for Maduro to step down," reported El Nacional.

(IANS)