President Donald Trump will meet the special forces who captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a deadly January raid, hailing the operation as a show of US might.

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump will meet on Friday with the special forces soldiers who captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a deadly raid in Caracas in January.

First Lady Melania Trump will accompany her husband to greet the troops at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina.

The operation saw US forces seize Maduro and his wife from a secured compound in the Venezuelan capital on January 3.

Venezuelan officials said 83 people were killed and more than 112 injured in the assault, which began with US bombing raids.

No US service members were killed in the operation.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trumps would “meet with military families and the heroic members of our special forces who carried out the successful ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ in Venezuela.”

Maduro is currently detained in the United States facing drug trafficking charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

His next court hearing is scheduled for March 17 in New York.

Trump approved former vice president Delcy Rodriguez to replace Maduro on condition she complies with US demands on oil access and easing state repression.

The US president has repeatedly hailed the operation as an example of American military might.

In a January rally, Trump hailed the “spectacular” operation by “unbelievable talented patriotic people that love our country.”

Trump has also spoken about a secret weapon he dubbed the “discombobulator” used in the operation.

“I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump said in a recent interview. “But let me just tell you, you know what it does? None of their equipment works.”

 The Sun Malaysia