Israeli leaders on Saturday welcomed the US military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of the country’s leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulating President Donald Trump for his “bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice”.
President Isaac Herzog thanked Trump for “leading the crucial global battle against brutal, rogue, and destabilising regimes, and against the dangers of narco-trafficking.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the US had acted as “the leader of the free world” and expressed hope that Maduro’s removal would allow Venezuela to return to democratic governance.
“At this historic moment, Israel stands alongside the freedom-loving Venezuelan people, who have suffered under Maduro’s illegal tyranny.
Israel welcomes the removal of the dictator who led a network of drugs and terror and hopes for the return of democracy to the country and for friendly relations between the states.”
Venezuela severed diplomatic ties with Israel following Israel’s 2008–09 Gaza operation.
The Israeli statements followed a large-scale US military operation overnight Friday in and around Caracas. According to US officials, American forces struck military targets, causing power outages in parts of the capital, before special forces detained Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were flown to New York to face narco-terrorism charges.
Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump said the United States would temporarily “run” Venezuela in order to oversee what he described as a “safe, proper and judicious transition”. He said Washington was prepared to deploy additional forces if necessary, including ground troops, but indicated that further strikes were unlikely in the immediate term.
Trump did not provide details on how the United States would administer Venezuela, saying only that senior American officials would be involved and that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is "essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."
However, appearing on Venezuelan television, Rodriguez said Maduro is the "only president of Venezuela", demanding his release.
Despite the operation, Venezuela’s existing leadership appeared to remain in place inside the country.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, welcomed Maduro’s arrest and called for opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia to assume the presidency.
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