President Donald Trump told House Republicans on Tuesday, during remarks at their annual retreat, that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro had tortured people, describing him as responsible for widespread violence and abuse.
"He's a violent guy and he's killed millions of people," said Trump, in comments airing on Newsmax, while decrying Democrats' complaints about the weekend military operation that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife.
"They have a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas that they're closing up. But he's tortured people," he said.
The United Nations has long documented human rights abuses by Venezuelan officials, including alleged extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence.
Following the capture, the Trump administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized that Maduro and his inner circle would face charges in New York related to narcotics trafficking and systematic human rights violations, including the use of state-run "torture chambers."
Trump's torture chamber comment likely refers to El Helicoide, a spiral-shaped building in Caracas used as a prison where the United Nations and Human Rights Watch have documented waterboarding, electric shocks, and prolonged incommunicado detention.
A recent report by U.N.-appointed investigators also accused Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard of playing a central role in systematic repression since 2014, citing a pattern of killings, arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual violence targeting protesters and opponents.
The mission said the abuses were part of an entrenched pattern enabled by "structural impunity" and failures in Venezuela's judicial system, and linked the Guard to the 2024 post-election "Operation Tun Tun" raids targeting critics with unfounded accusations such as terrorism or incitement to hatred.
Trump also on Tuesday said that 152 U.S. aircraft and "many military personnel" were involved in the mission to arrest Maduro.
"This was a complex operation," he said. "It was magnificent. There were no losses on our side, but unfortunately, many people were killed. Most of those killed were Cuban soldiers."
The operation also shut down electricity in "almost all of Venezuela," he said.
"The only people who had light were those holding candles in their hands," the president added.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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