How the US claims it captured Maduro dramatically
For months, the shadows around Venezuela’s powerful presidency had grown longer and quieter. While President Nicolás Maduro appeared in public with his usual confidence—smiling, waving, delivering fiery speeches—an unseen web of surveillance was slowly tightening around him.
According to senior US military and intelligence officials, American spies had been tracking Maduro’s movements with extraordinary detail. A small, highly compartmentalised team monitored where the 63-year-old leader slept each night, what meals he preferred, the clothes he wore, and even the routines involving his pets. One of the most sensitive elements of the operation, officials said, was a source from within the Venezuelan government itself, providing confirmation of schedules and last-minute changes.
This long, patient effort culminated in a classified plan known as “Operation Absolute Resolve.” Finalised in early December, the mission represented months of meticulous preparation, rehearsals and intelligence cross-checking. Elite US troops reportedly trained using a full-scale replica of Maduro’s Caracas safe house, built to exact specifications. Entry routes, lighting conditions and room layouts were practised repeatedly until every movement became instinctive.
Senior officials described the plan as one of the most ambitious US military interventions in Latin America since the Cold War era. It was also among the most secretive. Congress was neither briefed nor consulted in advance, a decision that has since sparked intense political debate in Washington. Once the final details were locked in, the operation was known only to a handful of top officials, all waiting for a narrow window in which weather, visibility and timing aligned.
That window almost opened earlier. US President Donald Trump approved the mission four days before it ultimately took place. But commanders on the ground urged patience. Cloud cover was heavier than expected, and the risk of detection was deemed too high. They stood down, waiting again.
“That meant waiting, even when everything else was ready.”
Through Christmas and New Year, US forces remained on standby. According to General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it was a tense and disciplined wait.
That order finally came late on Friday night.
At precisely 22:46 EST—03:46 GMT Saturday morning—Trump authorised the mission to begin. In Caracas, it was just before midnight, a time chosen deliberately to exploit darkness and fatigue. Speaking later on Fox & Friends, Trump said the moment felt sudden. “And we said: go.”
General Caine recalled the president’s final words to the team.
What followed was a rapid, tightly choreographed operation spanning air, land and sea. Over the next two hours and twenty minutes, US forces moved with a speed and coordination that stunned even veteran observers in Washington. Aircraft, naval units and ground teams worked in synchronisation, guided by real-time intelligence feeds that tracked movement around the safe house.
Officials have released few operational details, citing security concerns. But they confirmed that resistance was minimal and short-lived. By the time dawn approached, Maduro was in US custody, removed from power in a move that sent shockwaves across the region.
The reaction was immediate and fierce.
Several Latin American governments condemned the operation, calling it a violation of sovereignty and international law. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was among the most outspoken critics, warning that the violent capture of a sitting head of state set “yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community.”
In Washington, reactions were sharply divided. Supporters of the operation argued that Maduro’s long record of alleged human rights abuses and election manipulation justified decisive action. Critics, however, questioned both the legality and the secrecy of the mission, particularly the decision to bypass congressional oversight.
Beyond the politics, the operation marked a dramatic escalation in US involvement in Venezuela—a country already battered by years of economic collapse, sanctions and political turmoil. For ordinary Venezuelans, the news arrived with confusion, fear and cautious hope, depending on where their loyalties lay.
For the US military personnel involved, officials say the mission was the culmination of months of silent preparation and personal sacrifice. “It was about precision, discipline and bringing everyone home safely.”
As the world now grapples with the fallout, one thing is clear: Operation Absolute Resolve has redrawn the geopolitical map of the region overnight. Whether it leads to stability or deeper uncertainty remains an open question—but its human, political and historical consequences are only just beginning to unfold.