After months of secret planning and days of failed diplomacy, the United States launched a sweeping military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, following his rejection of a U.S.-backed offer that would have sent him into exile in Turkey. The account, drawn from reporting by the New York Times, reveals an inside story of covert intelligence, collapsed negotiations, and a high-risk assault that reshaped the balance of power in Venezuela overnight.
The groundwork for the operation was laid in August, when a clandestine team of C.I.A. officers slipped into Venezuela without diplomatic cover. Operating in extreme secrecy, the officers tracked Maduro’s daily movements across Caracas, aided by a human source close to the president and stealth drones flying undetected overhead. Over several months, the agency assembled a detailed profile of Maduro’s routines, locations, and security patterns, intelligence that General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, later described as extraordinarily precise.
As pressure mounted, U.S. officials sought to avoid a military confrontation. According to a senior American official cited by the New York Times, Maduro was offered a deal on December 23 that would have allowed him to leave Venezuela for Turkey in exchange for cooperation and concessions involving the country’s oil sector. Maduro angrily rejected the proposal, making clear he would not step aside voluntarily. With talks collapsed and intelligence confirming his location, U.S. military planners moved forward.
The attack unfolded as a coordinated assault involving more than 150 U.S. aircraft, including fighters, bombers, drones, and helicopters launched from bases and naval vessels across the region. A cyberoperation cut electricity to large parts of Caracas, plunging the capital into darkness and masking the approach of American forces. Warplanes struck radar sites and air defense systems to clear a path for helicopters carrying elite Delta Force operators.
Venezuelan forces fired on the incoming helicopters, hitting at least one aircraft. About half a dozen U.S. soldiers were injured during the operation, officials said. Inside Venezuela, the human cost was far greater. At least 40 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed during the strikes and ground fighting, according to a senior Venezuelan official who spoke anonymously about early casualty reports.
Delta Force commandos, rehearsed for months inside a full-scale replica of Maduro’s compound built in Kentucky, breached the fortified building within minutes. Maduro and his wife attempted to reach a steel-reinforced safe room but were stopped before they could seal themselves inside. Within roughly five minutes of entry, U.S. forces had Maduro in custody. An F.B.I. hostage negotiator was present in case of a standoff, but surrender came swiftly.
Maduro was flown by helicopter to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima stationed in the Caribbean, then transferred to Guantánamo Bay, and ultimately transported by government aircraft to the United States, where he was jailed in Brooklyn to face federal drug trafficking charges. President Trump monitored the raid in real time from Mar-a-Lago, questioning commanders as the operation unfolded and later praising its speed and precision.
The administration justified the mission as a strike against drug trafficking, though Venezuela is not considered a dominant global narcotics hub. Critics have raised serious questions about the legality of the operation and the broader implications of the United States asserting control over Venezuela’s future, including its oil infrastructure.
