Hello, welcome to a special edition of NewsHour from the BBC World Service,
coming to you live from London with me, Sean Lay.
A recording by a local resident in the Venezuelan capital,
Caracas, where in the early hours of this morning,
American aircraft were heard flying over the city and explosions in the background.
Over the next hour, we're going to examine what has been a dramatic day in the Americas.
US troops have taken Venezuela's President Nicos Maduro into custody.
Donald Trump says he'll be put on trial, accused of drug smuggling.
Can the 26-year-old Bolivarian Revolution survive without its leader?
And can President Trump deliver the promise he made at a news conference later on Saturday to ensure a safe,
proper and judicious transition to a different government?
Stay with us as we try to find some of the answers to those questions.
Four months ago, US President Donald Trump dispatched a task force to the Caribbean.
Charged, he said, with stopping the drug trafficking activities of a cartel,
he claimed was run by Venezuela's government.
It was pressure, but not intervention.
In the early hours of this morning, that strategy changed dramatically.
A little before 2am local time, Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, came under aerial assault.
As explosions woke a sleeping city at a military compound, Delta Force,
US Special Operations troops, were about to snatch the precedent.