CIA source, special forces, and mock house: The US operation to apprehend Maduro
US President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform at 4:21 a.m. Saturday that the US had executed a bold operation to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse.
The move was unexpected, but according to people with knowledge of the situation, preparations for one of the most intricate US operations in recent memory had been underway for a while and included thorough rehearsals.
Prominent American soldiers, such as the Army’s Delta Force, constructed a precise model of Maduro’s safe house and rehearsed their approach to the heavily guarded mansion.
According to one person acquainted with the situation, the CIA had a small team on the ground beginning in August who were able to provide insight into Maduro’s way of living, making his capture easy.
According to two more people who spoke to Reuters, the intelligence service also had an asset near Maduro who would keep an eye on his whereabouts and be ready to pinpoint his precise location as the operation progressed.
Trump authorized the operation four days ago, with all the necessary components in place, but intelligence and military strategists advised him to hold off until the weather improved and there was less cloud cover.
The mission to seize Maduro began early Saturday morning. At his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump watched a live stream of the operation while surrounded by his advisors.
Interviews with four people with knowledge of the situation and information disclosed by Trump himself provide insight into how the hours-long operation transpired.
“I’ve done some pretty good ones, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” Trump stated on Fox News a few hours after the mission was finished.
“Massive” operation
With the deployment of an aircraft carrier, eleven warships, and over a dozen F-35 aircraft, the Pentagon has presided over a significant military buildup in the Caribbean.
For what US officials have long characterized as anti-drug operations, almost 15,000 troops have swarmed into the area.
One of the individuals claims that CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Trump senior aide Stephen Miller created a core team that worked on the matter for months with frequent phone calls and meetings, sometimes even daily. They frequently had meetings with the president as well.
According to a US military official, Trump and his advisors gathered late Friday night and early Saturday as several US planes took off and launched attacks against targets inside and outside Caracas, including air defense systems.
Trump stated on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that there were “massive” numbers of US aircraft involved.
“We had a fighter jet for every possible situation,” Trump stated.
According to sources who spoke to Reuters, the Pentagon had surreptitiously entered the area to refuel air tankers, drones, and planes that specialized in electronic jamming in addition to fighter fighters.
The attacks struck military objectives, US officials told Reuters. Reuters captured photos of burned military vehicles from a Venezuelan anti-aircraft unit at the La Carlota air base in Caracas.
US Special Forces entered Caracas using heavy weapons during the strikes, including a blowtorch in case they needed to cut through steel doors at Maduro’s site.
Residents shared video of a convoy of helicopters flying over Caracas at low altitude on social media, however officials did not specify how the troops reached the city.
Following their arrival at Maduro’s safe house, the army and FBI agents entered what Trump called a “very highly guarded… fortress.”
“They just broke in, and they broke into places that were not really able to be broke into, you know, steel doors that were put there for just this reason,” Trump stated. “They got taken out in a matter of seconds.”
Maduro in custody today
Trump claimed that Maduro had made an abortive attempt to reach a safe place, although it is unclear how US forces were able to apprehend Maduro and his wife once they entered the house.
“He was trying to get into it, but he got bum rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that,” Trump stated.
Trump said that while some US personnel were struck, no one was killed.
Rubio began alerting lawmakers about the operation as it progressed. As is typical for important politicians who have an oversight function, the notifications only started after the operation began, officials told Reuters.
Maduro’s removal from Caracas is still mostly unknown. According to Trump, one chopper was struck “pretty hard” but managed to return.
The Venezuelan leader was transported by air to the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, where he will be tried in New York.