In an extraordinary military operation of unprecedented scale, United States forces successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a meticulously planned overnight mission. The operation, codenamed ‘Operation Absolute Resolve,’ involved more than 150 aircraft deployed from 20 land and sea-based locations across the Western Hemisphere.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine revealed that the mission required months of intensive preparation and coordination across all branches of the US military and intelligence community. Speaking from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Caine detailed how intelligence gathering included CIA operatives monitoring Maduro’s movements and routines throughout the summer.
The extraction force encountered resistance during the operation, resulting in multiple defensive engagements. Maduro and his wife were successfully taken into custody by approximately 3:29 a.m. Eastern Time and transported to the USS Iwo Jima. They are currently en route to New York where Maduro faces federal charges from a 2020 indictment, with a superseding indictment unsealed Saturday.
President Trump declared the mission a success and announced that the United States will assume control of Venezuela indefinitely to oversee a transition of power. ‘We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,’ Trump stated, adding that he plans to authorize US oil companies to take over Venezuela’s energy infrastructure.
The operation has already sparked domestic protests across major US cities under the banner ‘No War on Venezuela,’ while US forces remain in the region at heightened readiness levels. General Caine emphasized that any failure during the complex mission could have jeopardized the entire operation, noting that ‘failure is never an option for America’s joint force.’