In a phone interview with Fox News, President Donald Trump shared details of the U.S. attack on Venezuela overnight that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Trump said he believes there were no U.S. deaths, but that one U.S. helicopter was hit.
“I think we had nobody killed, I have to say, because a couple of guys were hit, but they came back,” Trump said. “And they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape, but that we had nobody killed. … We got it all back. One of them was hit pretty hard, but a helicopter, but we got it back.”
The president shared new details of the capturing of Maduro, saying he was “bum rushed” and U.S. forces had “massive blow torches” to get through the steel doors at Maduro’s complex.
Smoke rises from explosions in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 3, 2026, in this screen grab of a video obtained by Reuters.
Video Obtained By Reuters via Reuters
“But he was … in a house that was more like a fortress than a house. It had steel doors. It had what they call a safety space, where it’s solid steel all around,” Trump said.
Trump continued, “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. We had massive blow torches and everything else that you need to get through that steel. But we didn’t need it. … He didn’t make it to that area of the house.”
Trump also revealed that Maduro and his wife are being taken to the USS Iwo Jima and will be “heading to New York” to be indicted.
Trump, who has been on holiday in Florida, said he watched the attack from Mar-a-Lago and that he watched with others but did not specify.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie and Michelle Stoddart
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