The United States says its military operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro took months of planning, yet when President Donald Trump authorized the strike, “Operation Absolute Resolve” was completed in just under three hours.
The early-morning mission on Saturday resulted in the unprecedented arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple, captured by an elite US army unit while attempting to reach a fortified safe room, are now being held in a New York detention centre, facing charges including narco-terrorism.
By sunrise, the scale of the operation in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, was evident. Images from Fuerte Tiuna, a major military complex housing top government officials, showed damaged buildings and charred vehicles. Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández confirmed to the Associated Press that the Maduros were apprehended at the site.
Operation Begins
Reports indicate the operation started around 2:00 a.m. local time (6:00 GMT) with explosions in Caracas. Trump said US forces temporarily cut the city’s power, describing the conditions as “dark and deadly.” The strikes targeted Venezuela’s air defences to clear a path for helicopters to reach Fuerte Tiuna.
General Dan Caine, the US military’s top officer, said the element of surprise had been completely maintained. The BBC confirmed strikes at five key locations, including the military compound, a port, and an airport. Satellite and on-ground images showed the base engulfed in flames.
Venezuelans reported US helicopters flying low over the city, some of which came under fire, though the aircraft successfully reached their targets. “It was a lot of gunfire,” Trump added.
Once on the ground, Delta Force operatives moved swiftly. The team gained entry to Fuerte Tiuna at 2:01 a.m., and Maduro and his wife surrendered without resistance, Gen Caine said. Trump added that the couple had tried to reach a steel-reinforced safe room, but US forces intercepted them before they could enter. Even if they had reached it, he claimed, troops could have breached it in under a minute.
Transport to the US
After their capture, the Maduros were flown approximately 2,100 miles (3,400 km) to New York City. They were initially transported by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima, a US warship in the Caribbean. Gen Caine confirmed the team returned over the water by 4:29 a.m. A defining image from the operation showed Maduro handcuffed, wearing ear protection and dark glasses resembling a blindfold.
From the Iwo Jima, the couple was flown to the US Navy base at Guantánamo Bay before being transported on a government plane to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York. They were finally moved by helicopter to Manhattan.
On Saturday, video footage emerged of Maduro at the Drug Enforcement Agency’s headquarters in New York. He and Flores are now facing multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, cocaine importation, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess such weapons against the United States.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
