1月3日未明、米軍が南米ベネズエラに空爆。3時間後には、ニコラス・マドゥロ大統領を拘束、米国に連行したと発表しました。
The US carried out airstrikes across Venezuela overnight on Friday, with explosions rocking the capital, Caracas, before dawn.
空爆➾air raidもOK
Shortly afterwards, US president Donald Trump announced that US forces had captured the Venezuelan sitting president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flown them out of the country.
※capture 捕らえる、生け捕る
※sitting president 現職大統領 ➾incumbent
大胆な作戦に、ベネズエラ当局は不意を突かれ、世界中が驚きました。
Despite months of escalating rhetoric, Venezuelan authorities seemed to have been caught off guard by the brazen operation.
※catch off guard （人の）不意を突く、油断しているところを襲う、隙をつく
※brazen operation 大胆不敵で公然と行われた作戦
The lightning operation stunned the international community. US allies and adversaries alike were taken aback by the audacious U.S. military operation.
※lightning operation電光石火の作戦
※ally同盟国 ※adversary敵 ※alike一様に
※be taken aback（予期せぬ出来事に）驚かされる、面食らう、仰天する
※audacious 大胆な、不敵な、無謀な
麻薬テロを大義に、『断固たる決意』は綿密に練られたと言われています。
The US administration has accused Maduro of "narco-terrorism" and smuggling thousands of tons of drugs into the United States. The operation dubbed “Absolute Resolve” was meticulously planned. For months, US spies had been monitoring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's every move.
世界最大の石油埋蔵量を持つベネズエラですが、反米左派のチャベス氏が1999年に大統領に就いて以来、国民は貧困や弾圧に苦しみ、総人口の4分の1の約800万人が国を出ています。海外のベネズエラ人は今回の出来事に歓喜しました。
Approximately 8 million Venezuelans have left their country due to an ongoing political, economic, and humanitarian crisis. This exodus represents about a quarter of Venezuela's total population.
※exodus 大移動、大勢の出国
Jubilant Venezuelan diaspora flooded the streets of major cities around the world to celebrate the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
※jubilant （歓声をあげて）喜ぶ、歓喜に沸く
※diaspora（単一民族の）離散、海外移住、 国外離散（した人々）➾migrant
副大統領が暫定大統領に就任しました。
Venezuela's vice president and oil minister, Deli Rodriguez, was formally sworn in as the country's interim president.
※interim 当座の、仮の、暫時の➾provisional
囚人服で足枷を付けられた夫妻が搬送される写真が公開されました。自分は拉致されたと言い、罪状認否では無罪を主張しました。
Maduro and his wife were brought to a Manhattan federal court for their arraignment, where they appeared in prison uniforms and leg shackles. Both pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and weapons charges.
※shackle 手枷、足枷／拘束
『西半球』の支配を優先したいとされているアメリカ。ノーベル平和賞受賞者のマチャド氏は、トランプにメダルを進呈しました。
The Western Hemisphere is a top priority region for President Donald Trump's National Security Strategy.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has given her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House, saying it was a recognition of his commitment to her country's freedom.
