How did US forces infiltrate Venezuela, capture Maduro from Caracas? - explainer

But how far back do plans for the top-secret mission date? And why did the US capture former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores?

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine reported that agents knew about his pets, what he ate, what he wore, and where he slept.

Consequently, a small team within the US administration worked on the project for months while briefing Trump on the matter, a CIA official said during a briefing with reporters on Saturday.

The official said that the team involved Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. The team, which at times met daily, met both with the president and separately.

Later, in the fall of 2025, the US military amped up the pressure on Venezuela by striking several boats in the Caribbean that the administration claimed were drug vessels. The administration has struck around 35 vessels so far.

Delta Force commandos rehearsed the extraction repeatedly at this time inside a full-scale replica of Maduro’s compound constructed at a US military facility in Kentucky, practicing rapid breaching and close-quarters movement under simulated fire.

In a Saturday press conference, Trump alleged that troops trained with “massive blowtorches” in the event that they had to cut through the walls of Maduro’s safe room.

In early December, US military officials finalized plans on Operation Absolute Resolve to abduct Maduro and his wife.

The elite Army Delta Force, the same unit involved in the 2019 raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was tasked with the capture.

Congress was not briefed ahead of time.

Later that month, in a private phone call, Trump offered Maduro one last chance to step down.

Reuters reported that Trump told the South American leader that he had a week to leave the country. He refused, though Trump said that he “came close” to giving in.

The administration concluded the offer was not made in good faith, and negotiations collapsed.

In the days leading up to the raid, the US quietly surged military assets into the region, including Special Operations aircraft, electronic warfare platforms, armed Reaper drones, fighter jets, bombers, and search-and-rescue helicopters.

A CIA drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility earlier in the week appeared to signal escalating pressure. However, officials later said it was part of a broader campaign to degrade Venezuelan logistical capacity.

"Over the weeks through Christmas and New Year, the men and women of the United States military sat ready, patiently waiting for the right triggers to be met and the president to order us into action," Caine said at the Saturday press conference where Trump spoke.

Finally, on Friday evening at 10:46 p.m. EST, Trump ordered that the operation be carried out.

The military then conducted the over two-hour operation in the middle of the night, which included a large-scale, middle-of-the-night military operation and raid on Maduro's base, as well as strikes across the country.

The raid itself marked one of the most dangerous US military missions in decades. Senior officials compared it to the 2011 operation that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, both in complexity and geopolitical risk.

The operation began with a coordinated cyberattack that cut electricity across large sections of Caracas, plunging the city into darkness. This blackout enabled US aircraft to approach undetected.

"The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have," Trump said. "It was dark, and it was deadly."

Explosions were heard in Caracas at 2 a.m. local time. Locals reported hearing planes and helicopters over the city and saw large plumes of smoke rising from several areas.

US officials said that more than 150 aircraft, including bombers, fighter jets, and reconnaissance planes, launched from approximately 20 bases and naval vessels were deployed throughout the night.

"It was very complex, extremely complex, the whole manoeuvre, the landings, the number of aircraft," Trump said on Fox News. "We had a fighter jet for every possible situation."

The BBC reported that the US struck five locations in Venezuela: Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base, La Carlota airfield,  Port La Guaira, Fuerte Tiuna, and Antenas El Volcán.

The strikes targeted Venezuela’s air defense systems, the BBC reported, citing US officials.

Elite US Delta Force members arrived at  Maduro’s location at around 1:00 a.m. local time.  According to US officials, they reached Maduro’s location within three minutes of breaching the building, preventing him and his wife from reaching a reinforced safe room.

Within five minutes, Maduro was in US custody. An FBI hostage negotiator accompanied the force but was not required to intervene. US forces left Venezuela at around 3:30 a.m. local time.

Caine noted during the press conference that after Maduro’s capture, a firefight broke out, and a US helicopter was hit, and several US troops were wounded.

As the operation was carried out, Rubio began alerting members of Congress. The operation has drawn mixed reactions from world leaders and lawmakers from the US and internationally.

While Trump has framed the operation as a counter-narcotics strike, critics, both in the US and abroad, argue the capture of a sitting head of state represents a profound escalation, raising unresolved questions about international law, sovereignty, and executive authority.

Trump has warned that other Venezuelan leaders could be targeted if instability continues, though officials say a second wave of military action remains unlikely unless provoked.

When asked why they didn’t brief Congress before the operation, Rubio and Trump maintained that it would have endangered the secret mission.

“Congress has a tendency to leak. This would not be good,” Trump said.

The US president went on to call the mission “one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of US military might and competence in US history."

"It was an incredible thing to see," Trump said. "If you would have seen what happened, I mean, I watched it literally like I was watching a television show. And if you would've seen the speed, the violence... It's just, it was an amazing thing, an amazing job that these people did."

Trump said that no US service members were killed and not a single piece of military equipment was lost during the operation.

Several US troops were injured during the operations, though they are all currently in a stable condition, NBC reported, citing US officials.

Less than an hour after US troops left the country, Trump announced the strike on Truth Social.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” he wrote.

The indictment against him alleges that he led a scheme in which a “cycle of narcotics-based corruption lines the pockets of Venezuelan officials and their families while also benefiting violent narco-terrorists who operate with impunity on Venezuelan soil and who help produce, protect, and transport tons of cocaine to the United States.”

Maduro’s wife and son are also facing criminal charges.

Bondi wrote in a Saturday post on X/Twitter that Maduro and Flores “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Maduro is expected to make his first appearance in court on Monday, NBC reported.

Trump said on Saturday that the US would “run Venezuela until they can have a safe, democratic, and judicious transition.”

Machado was banned from running in the country’s 2024 election by institutions loyal to Maduro. She was replaced on the ballot by González Urrutia, a little-known career diplomat.

Notably, Trump said that while many believed that Machado would assume the presidency, he believed that she was not popular enough to lead Venezuela.

“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country.”

However, in her first speech since Maduro’s capture, Rodriguez appeared to break from Trump’s expectations.

“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros."

Rodriguez has also since claimed the government has received no proof that Maduro and the first lady are alive and has formally demanded confirmation from Washington.