Goa, Jan. 3 -- US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores had been "captured" and "flown out of the country," while confirming that American forces had carried out what he described as a "large-scale strike" on Venezuela. If verified, the operation would mark the most direct US military intervention in a Latin American nation since the 1989 invasion of Panama that led to the removal of Manuel Noriega.

The White House did not immediately provide further details on the location of Maduro and Flores or the circumstances surrounding their alleged capture. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez later appeared on state television, stating that the government was unaware...