Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro received a Chinese government representative at the presidential palace in Caracas on Friday, hours before US President Donald Trump claimed Maduro had been captured following American military strikes.Maduro met Qiu Xiaoqi, special representative of the Chinese government on Latin American affairs, at the Miraflores Palace.“I had a pleasant meeting with Qiu Xiaoqi, Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping,” Maduro said on Telegram. “We reaffirmed our commitment to the strategic relationship that is progressing and strengthening in various areas for building a multipolar world of development and peace,” as per Anadolu Agency.The meeting came before Trump claimed Maduro, along with his wife, had been captured after a “large scale” strike and flown out of the country.According to US officials cited by CBS News, elite Delta Force operators took Maduro into custody following what President Donald Trump described as a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela and its leadership. Trump later claimed that both Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said their whereabouts were unknown and demanded “proof of life,” according to the Associated Press. The operation coincided with overnight explosions in Caracas, where residents reported air sirens, power outages and low-flying aircraft. Delta Force, the US Army’s premier special missions unit, has previously led high-profile operations, including the 2019 raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the 2003 capture of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during Operation Red Dawn.
