President Trump to Meet Special Forces Who Captured President Maduro in Venezuela

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump will meet with the special forces who captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in a deadly attack in Caracas in January, on Friday.

First Lady Melania Trump will accompany her husband on a trip to greet troops at Fort Bragg Military Base in North Carolina, the White House said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump and the First Lady would "meet with military families and members of our heroic special forces who carried out the successful 'Operation Absolute Resolve' in Venezuela and helped bring drug terrorist Nicolas Maduro to justice," as reported by Al Arabiya from AFP (13/2).

The surprise operation saw US forces swoop in by helicopter under the cover of darkness and arrest Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital on January 3.

Eighty-three people were killed and more than 112 wounded in the attack, which began with a US bombing raid on a Venezuelan military target, Venezuelan officials said.

On the other hand, there were no members of the Uncle Sam's military who died.

It is known that the US President has repeatedly praised Maduro's operation as an example of his country's military strength, as he asserted Washington's right to dominate the surrounding region.

In a January campaign rally in Iowa, Trump praised the "spectacular" operation by "a group of very talented and patriotic people who love our country. You can't stop them."

President Trump also spoke of a secret weapon he called a "discombobulator" that was used to cripple Venezuelan equipment and potentially also its personnel.

"I'm not allowed to talk about it," Trump said in an interview last week with NBC News.

"But let me tell you, do you know what it is for? None of their equipment works, that's what it's for," he explained.

"It's all going to be a mess," Trump said.

President Maduro, who is currently detained in the United States, faces drug trafficking and other crimes, which he has pleaded not guilty.

President Maduro's next court hearing is scheduled for March 17 in New York.

President Trump recently approved former vice president Delcy Rodriguez to replace his ousted boss, Maduro, on the condition that he comply with Trump's demands for access to oil and a reduction in state repression.