CARACAS -- Venezuela's Bolivarian National Armed Forces on Sunday, January 4, 2026, strongly condemned the "cowardly kidnapping" of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the United States.
In a statement read out on national radio and television, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez also denounced that US troops sent to Venezuela early Saturday, January 3, murdered "in cold blood" a large part of Maduro's security detail, soldiers and innocent civilians.
Venezuela's military expressed its full support for the state of external emergency declared by the Venezuelan government following the US strikes on several locations within Venezuela.
"Our institution will continue to employ all its available capabilities for military defense, the maintenance of internal order, and the preservation of peace," the armed forces statement said.
Padrino said the armed forces activated "the Full Operational Readiness Plan throughout the entire national territory and in perfect civilian-military-police coordination."
This action aims to "integrate the elements of National Power in the mission to confront imperial aggression, forming a single combat force to ensure the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of the Nation," the military said.
In the early hours of Saturday, US military forces carried out attacks and bombings in Caracas and other parts of the country and took Maduro and his wife by force. (Xinhua)