An elite and highly secretive CIA paramilitary unit was the hidden force behind the operation that led to the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a Mirror investigation can reveal.
The Shadow Mission in Caracas
The CIA's Ground Branch, a unit within the Special Activities Centre, infiltrated Caracas as early as August 2025. Their mission was to covertly monitor Maduro's movements and prepare the ground for a later assault by US Army Delta Force commandos. The team operated from a network of safe houses, meticulously avoiding Venezuelan security and counter-intelligence forces for weeks.
Their work was painstaking and perilous. Operatives had to map every potential entry point to Maduro's fortress, calculate the thickness of walls, identify bullet-proof windows, and track the routines of his bodyguards. They compiled a detailed "pattern of life" dossier on the Venezuelan leader, a document crucial for planning the high-risk raid.
The High-Stakes Raid and Aftermath
The operation culminated on a Saturday, with a massive show of force involving 150 warplanes and 11 naval ships. Amid a series of explosions, the raid successfully seized the 63-year-old Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and several associates. The mission was one of the most audacious launched by the United States in recent years.
This week, Maduro and his wife appeared in a federal court in New York City, where they were arraigned on narco-terrorism charges. Both entered pleas of not guilty.
America's Most Secretive 'Killer Elite'
Ground Branch is described as a "killer elite" unit, composed of ex-Delta Force operators, former Navy SEALs, and highly-trained spies. They are the United States' most clandestine "black ops" team, specialising in sabotage, intelligence gathering, and direct action missions behind enemy lines. Recruitment is shrouded in secrecy, with candidates vetted for months.
The operation in Venezuela was considered a "black op," relying on plausible deniability. Had the Ground Branch team been captured, the US government would likely have been unable to acknowledge them or intervene. A Western security source told the Mirror: "That was a profoundly difficult mission... there was no official cover either so had they been caught it would have been very difficult for them."
The mission was significantly aided by defectors from within the Venezuelan military and intelligence services, who "flipped" and assisted regular CIA officers in identifying key targets. While Ground Branch worked in the shadows, these other CIA operatives were persuading regime insiders to cooperate.
The unit was born from a need identified in the 1980s for a paramilitary force that could bridge the gap between the military and intelligence agencies. This need was crystallised after the failure of Operation Eagle Claw, the 1980 attempt to rescue hostages in Iran, which ended in disaster with the deaths of eight US service members.
The closest equivalent within the British system is the SAS's 'E Squadron', which works closely with MI6 on similar clandestine tasks. The Caracas operation, however, stands as a testament to the extreme risks and sophisticated planning undertaken by America's most shadowy warriors.
