The United States military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, was executed in just two hours and 28 minutes early on Saturday, after months of meticulous planning. The raid, named Operation Absolute Resolve, involved at least 150 aircraft and extensive surveillance by the CIA and other intelligence agencies, according to US officials.
Critical to the operation was establishing Maduro's pattern of life, a task that began in August. Intelligence agencies tracked his movements, sleeping locations, and even his pets. Maduro had increased his personal security, changing sleeping places regularly and relying heavily on Cuban counterintelligence and bodyguards. However, on Friday evening, his location was fixed at a compound on Fuerte Tiuna, a key military base in Caracas.
The US built up a massive naval presence in the Caribbean from September, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford. On the night of the operation, US President Donald Trump gave the final go order at 10.46pm Eastern Time. The first step was to clear an air corridor by destroying Venezuela's air defences, using Tomahawk cruise missiles and AGM-88 Harm anti-radiation weapons. Airbases and communication centres were bombed, and F-35 jets reportedly destroyed Venezuelan fighters on the ground. Power outages in Caracas were attributed by Trump to a 'certain expertise', possibly a cyber-attack, but could have resulted from the bombing.
Delta Force troops flew in modified Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters at 100ft above the water to evade radar, then used mountains to hide until reaching Caracas. The helicopters flew in formation across the city to Fuerte Tiuna without being hit. The CIA also revealed it had a human source inside the Venezuelan government, a bold statement that may risk exposing the spy but also undermines confidence in Venezuela's security.
