Asaduddin Owaisi tells PM Modi, if Trump can ‘capture’ Venezuelan President, why can't...

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on Saturday that if US President Donald Trump can “capture” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, then why can't Prime Minister Narendra Modi bring the masterminds of the 26/11 terrorist attacks to India from Pakistan?

Speaking at a rally in Mumbai, Owaisisaid, “We saw today that US President Donald Trump's forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and took him from his country to America.”

Addressing Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Owaisi added, "If Trump can send his military and get Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro abducted from his own country and if Saudi Arabia can bomb Yemen ports…We are telling you, Modiji, why can't you send troops to Pakistan and bring back the masterminds of the 26/11 terrorist attacks to India, whether it's Masood Azhar or a cruel devil from Lashkar-e-Taiba.”

He added, “Modiji, 56-inch ka seena hai, then abduct them and bring them back to India.”

US strikes Venezuela

Owaisi's remarks referred to the dramatic overnight US operation on 3 January in Caracas. Confirming a “large-scale strike against Venezuela”, Trump posted on Truth Social that Maduro, along with his wife, had been captured and flown out of the country.

Maduro was taken to New York. Trump earlier shared a photo of him blindfolded on board the USS Iwo Jima. The image showed what appeared to be Maduro, wearing an eye mask and headphones, dressed in a grey tracksuit.

“This operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement. Details to follow,” Trump wrote in his post.

Trump also promised to put the country under American control “for now”, even as Venezuelan officials vowed defiance.

As part of the operation that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas, US Special Forces captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses, Trump said.

With Maduro in US custody, "We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

"We can't take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesn't have the interests of Venezuelans in mind," he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Trump also said that Maduro and his wife "will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil" for their alleged role in drug trafficking.

“We will make the people of Venezuela rich, independent, and safe. The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States," Trump was quoted by ANI as saying.

He added, “Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil. Right now, they're on a ship that will be heading to, ultimately, New York. And then a decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or Florida.”