Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has strongly condemned an illegal US military attack that resulted in the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, demanding their immediate release and warning that Venezuela is prepared to defend itself.

Speaking in a live public address on Saturday, Rodriguez denounced the early-morning attack as "barbaric," denouncing Washington for besieging and blockading Venezuela with the aim of forcing regime-change and seizing the country`s natural wealth.

"We demand the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the only president of Venezuela," Rodríguez said, adding that the aggression had exposed the true objectives of the United States.

"The masks have fallen and it is clear that they had only one objective: A regime-change in Venezuela, so that they could seize our energy, mineral, and natural resources," she said.

"They want to enslave us again. We will never be slaves again, we will never be a colony of any empire of any kind."

Rodriguez said the government was ready to defend the country and its resources, stressing that the Venezuelan people were outraged by the "illegal, illegitimate kidnapping" of the president and the first lady. She also urged citizens to remain calm amid the unfolding situation.

Her remarks came after US President Donald Trump said Washington intended to take control of Venezuela during an interim period following the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores.

Speaking at a press conference in Florida, Trump claimed the US would "run" Venezuela until a "safe, proper, and judicious" transition of power takes place. He said officials from his administration would oversee "governance" during that period, pointing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Trump also claimed that US forces were already present in Venezuela, though no immediate evidence was provided.

The attack began in the early hours of Saturday, when American troops carried out coordinated strikes on civilian and military targets in Caracas and several other states.

Trump said Maduro and Flores were kidnapped during the attack and flown out of the country.

US officials claimed the couple were aboard an American warship en route to New York to face "criminal charges."

The US military aggression followed months of escalating pressure on Venezuela, including a buildup of forces in South America and attacks in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean that Washington purported were linked to drug trafficking allegations, claims previously rejected by Maduro as a pretext for an attack on the country.