America's most secretive CIA unit, 'Ground Branch', spearheaded the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, The Mirror can reveal. The elite team from within the CIA Special Activities Centre was inserted into Caracas as early as August to monitor Maduro's movements and prepare for a special forces assault.
The Ground Branch operatives covertly mapped entry points for Army Delta Force commandos and compiled a detailed 'pattern of life' file on Maduro and his bodyguards. They calculated his every movement, estimated wall thicknesses, identified bullet-proof windows, and plotted routes for security personnel, all while operating from a network of safe houses under constant threat of detection.
The operation culminated on Saturday with a massive assault involving 150 warplanes and 11 ships, resulting in the capture of Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and others. Maduro and his wife later appeared in a New York court on narco-terror charges, both pleading not guilty.
Ground Branch operatives are highly-trained former special forces soldiers, including ex-Delta Force and Navy SEALs, making them the US's most secretive 'black ops' unit. The mission was supported by defectors from Venezuela's military and intelligence services, who helped regular CIA officers gather intelligence on Maduro's network.
The operation was considered unusually long and high-risk for Ground Branch, with no official cover, meaning the US government could not have acknowledged or rescued them if captured. One western security source described it as 'a profoundly difficult mission to undertake' given the extended duration and numerous moving parts.
