U.S. military forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, while they slept in their bedroom during a daring overnight raid on their fortified compound in Caracas, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve.
Maduro
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, detailed the mission’s intricacies during a Saturday press conference, revealing months of clandestine preparation by the CIA, NSA, and National Crime Agency (NCA) that tracked the couple’s routines to identify the perfect strike window.
Positioned by early December amid optimal weather, the operation launched at 10:46 p.m. Washington time on Friday, Jan. 2, following President Donald J. Trump’s final go-ahead, with over 150 aircraft including F-22s, F-35s, and B-1 bombers neutralizing Venezuela’s air defenses.
Clandestine Approach and Entry
Extraction helicopters skimmed 100 feet above the Caribbean to evade radar, descending on Maduro’s compound at 1:01 a.m. EST, where ground teams from Delta Force and FBI Hostage Rescue faced brief small-arms fire but pressed forward using real-time intelligence.
The assault team navigated the building’s defenses, reaching the presidential bedroom where Maduro and Flores were apprehended without resistance, marking the operation’s climax amid suppressive fire from accompanying drones and jets.
Withdrawing under cover, forces engaged in self-defense actions against pursuing Venezuelan troops, achieving safe extraction over water by 3:29 a.m. EST, with zero American casualties or equipment losses.
Transfer and Trump Confirmation
Maduro and his wife were immediately helicoptered to the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship for secure transport to New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where the leader faces narcoterrorism and cocaine trafficking charges.
President Trump confirmed the success via Truth Social, posting a photo of the shackled Maduro aboard the vessel and praising the flawless execution in coordination with U.S. law enforcement, capping a campaign that included prior seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers.
The raid, part of a broader U.S. military buildup with guided-missile destroyers and the USS Gerald R. Ford in the region, has sparked global debate over its legality while advancing charges against Maduro linked to drug trafficking networks.
