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Trump suggests US used cyberattacks to turn off lights in Venezuela during strikes

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Saturday that the U.S. used cyberattacks or other technical capabilities to cut power off in Caracas during strikes on the Venezuelan capital that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

If true, it would mark one of the most public uses of U.S. cyber power against another nation in recent memory. These operations are typically highly classified, and the U.S. is considered one of the most advanced nations in cyberspace operations globally.

“It was dark, the lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have, it was dark, and it was deadly,” Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago detailing the operation.

Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during the same press conference that U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Space Command and combatant commands “began layering different effects” to “create a pathway” for U.S. forces flying into the country early Saturday. Caine did not elaborate on what those “effects” entailed.

Spokespeople for the White House, Cyber Command and Space Command did not respond to requests for comment on the cyber operations in Venezuela.

Internet tracking group NetBlocks reported a loss of internet connectivity in Caracas during power cuts early Saturday morning. Alp Toker, founder of NetBlocks, said in an email Saturday that if cyberattacks contributed to these outages, “it will have been targeted, not impacting the broader network space.”

Saturday’s offensive marked the latest cyberattack targeting Venezuelan infrastructure in recent weeks. Venezuelan national oil and gas company PDVSA, or Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., last month accused the U.S. government of carrying out a cyberattack that led to delays in operations across the country.

The Trump administration has not publicly commented on whether the U.S. was involved in the December attack. PDVSA said its facilities were not damaged in the strikes on Saturday.

LP Staff Writers

Writers at Lord’s Press come from a range of professional backgrounds, including history, diplomacy, heraldry, and public administration. Many publish anonymously or under initials—a practice that reflects the publication’s long-standing emphasis on discretion and editorial objectivity. While they bring expertise in European nobility, protocol, and archival research, their role is not to opine, but to document. Their focus remains on accuracy, historical integrity, and the preservation of events and individuals whose significance might otherwise go unrecorded.

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