Elite U.S. troops pulled off one of the most dramatic special operations raids in recent memory this week, snatching Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro from his fortified compound in the dead of night. Democrats are flipping out, but that doesn’t change the fact that Trump captured a dictator, and the details of how Delta Force pulled it off so successfully are pretty darn cool.
President Trump approved the operation four days before it happened, but his planners asked him to wait for better weather and clearer skies. At 10:46 p.m. EST on Friday, Trump gave the final green light for Operation Absolute Resolve. He watched the entire raid unfold on a live video feed from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, surrounded by advisers and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump later told Fox News that "all of a sudden it opened up and we said go," referring to the weather breaking in their favor.
“Elite U.S. troops, including the Army's Delta Force, created an exact replica of Maduro's safe house and practiced how they would enter the strongly fortified residence,” explains Reuters. “The CIA had a small team on the ground starting in August who were able to provide insight into Maduro's pattern of life that made grabbing him seamless, according to one source familiar with the matter.”
They ran through the assault over and over, figuring out how to punch through reinforced doors and clear rooms against a target that knew Americans might be coming for him. One source told reporters the troops "carried out Maduro like a dog" after dragging him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their bedroom while they slept.
Two other sources told Reuters the intelligence agency also had an asset close to Maduro who would monitor his movements and was poised to pinpoint his exact location as the operation unfolded.
With the pieces in place, Trump approved the operation four days ago, but military and intelligence planners suggested he wait for better weather and less cloud cover. At 10:46 p.m. EST on Friday, Trump gave the final go ahead for what would be known as Operation Absolute Resolve, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine told reporters.
Trump, surrounded by his advisers at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, watched a live stream of the events.
More than 150 aircraft took part in the mission, including bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance planes. Helicopters from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment flew low over the Caribbean before roaring into Caracas, where they came under fire from Venezuelan defenses. U.S. forces hit back with overwhelming firepower. One helicopter took damage but kept flying. The entire assault force was back over the water by 3:29 a.m. EST with Maduro and his wife aboard.
Trump said the raid was unlike anything he had seen, even compared with other major strikes during his presidency. He acknowledged that “a couple of our guys were ‘hit,’” while expressing confidence there were no U.S. fatalities. Delta operators moved so quickly that Maduro failed to reach a steel panic room, and the couple were taken to the USS Iwo Jima and sent to New York to face drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.
No games. FAFO. pic.twitter.com/brCiNvCK8u
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026
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