Argentina’s President Javier Milei on Saturday welcomed the shock capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, publicly aligning himself with US President Donald Trump.
In a brief post on the X social network, Milei reacted to news of the United States intervention in Venezuela, declaring: “Freedom moves forward. Long live freedom, damn it!”
Trump announced earlier on Saturday that US forces had captured Maduro following what he described as a ‘large-scale strike’ on the South American country.
According to a post by the US president on social media, Maduro and his wife were ‘captured and flown out of the country’ around two hours after explosions were reported in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
In later comments to the LN+ news channel, Milei celebrated "the fall of a dictator, a terrorist and a drug-trafficker who wanted to cling to power."
"Maduro is a usurper of power, he was rigging elections ... he wanted to cling to power. This is the fall of a dictator," continued Argentina's head of state.
"He is a narco-terrorist who has deep connections with Podemos in Spain, who caused electoral interference in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, who has links with Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and FARC dissidents, who laundered money, and who played a role similar to that of Cuba in the 1970s, importing communism and terrorism," said the President.
"This is excellent news for the free world," he added.
Milei’s response to the dramatic operation is consistent with his public stance on the crisis in Venezuela.
Just days earlier, Argentina’s President had branded the government in Caracas an “atrocious and inhumane dictatorship.” He said the world would be “a better place without Venezuelan communism.”
"Today is a historic day. Peace and freedom are coming to Latin America," celebrated lawmaker and former security minister Patricia Bullrich, one of Milei's top allies.
Speaking at a Mercosur summit last month, Milei said “Argentina welcomes the pressure from the United States and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people,” adding that “the time for a timid approach on this matter has run out.”
Argentina is among a group of countries that do not recognise Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. Milei has repeatedly voiced his support for opposition figure María Corina Machado and her efforts to force Maduro from power.
Earlier this year, Milei travelled to Norway to attend a ceremony at which Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, further underlining his backing for her.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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