As if the story of the "audacious" Maduro raid couldn't get any more impressive in its whole-of-military approach — using spies, an inside mole in Nicolás Maduro's government, drones, every kind of stealth jet and prowler you can imagine, Night Stalker helo pilots, and Army Delta operators — now it looks like you can add SEAL Team 6 to the mix, according to a spec ops publication.
I love a good spy thriller. I read bunches of them and interview some of these incredible authors — most of whom are former operators or pilots themselves. If Don Bentley, Brad Thor, Jack Carr, Ben Coes, Brad Taylor don't pull the strings of the story behind this operation and place their protagonists Mitch Rapp, Scot Harvath, Dewey Andreas, or Pike Logan somewhere in an iteration of this story, I would be shocked.
General Dan "Raizin'" Caine, in the presser following the operation, never mentioned SEAL Team 6 in his tick-tock of events between 10:46 p.m. Friday night, when Trump gave the final order to go, and Saturday morning. You can read about the tick-tock in my piece "Venezuela: What It Took to Pull Off 'An Assault Like People Have Not Seen Since World War II.'"
Guy D. McCardle over at SOFREP reports, "Before dawn, Delta Force, backed by SEAL Team Six maritime support, reportedly snatched Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores from their Ft. Tiuna home and hustled them to the waiting USS Iwo Jima..."
Watch: Extraordinary Photos Chronicle Trump Team Reaction to 'Operation Absolute Resolve' to Get Maduro
This is one detail I wondered about. What did the exfil look like? How did the Delta operators get the Maduros on board the vessel? Did the helicopter land on the Iwo Jima's deck or did they exfil in another way?
General Cain doesn't offer a lot of clues.
After securing the indicted persons, the force began to prep for departure. Helicopters were called in to exfiltrate the extraction force while fighter aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire. There were multiple self-defense engagements as the force began to withdraw out of Venezuela. The force successfully exfiltrated and returned to their ... bases.
[T]he force was over the water at 3:29 a.m. Eastern Standard Time with indicted persons on board. And both Maduro and his wife were embarked aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
But SOFREP reports that Delta reportedly got a "maritime assist" from SEAL Team 6.
McCardle reported, "SOFREP has it on good authority from a highly placed source in the special operations community that it was Delta Force with maritime support from SEAL Team Six that pulled off the daring early morning operation that captured Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores."
There's no other confirmation of this claim at this time.
The extraordinary story of Night Stalker pilots flying just 100 feet above the water to insert a Delta Force contingent into Caracas — alongside CIA operatives, a mole inside Maduro's government, and a web of aircraft and three-letter agencies — stands as a gripping tale even without the involvement of SEAL Team 6.
Details of Raid: Venezuela: What It Took to Pull Off 'An Assault Like People Have Not Seen Since World War II'
President Trump provided a video of the helicopters used in the raid in a Truth Social post yesterday. Look carefully.
As this guy noted, however, if SEALS are a part of it, you can guarantee there will be multiple books and movies about the op. He's joking. Sort of.
Well, while it was Delta Force that captured Maduro in Venezuela, I'm kind of sad that it wasn't Seal Team 6.
— Mac Savage (@realmacsavage) January 3, 2026
If it had been Seal Team 6, we would of had 5 books, 2 movies, and 16 podcasts about the operation.
Now we'll just have rumors and legend. pic.twitter.com/3sz0VzMoV6
Don Bentley successfully placed Vince Flynn’s protagonist, Mitch Rapp, into a setup reminiscent of the bin Laden raid in his book Capture or Kill, so it can and has been done to great effect.
This op was like catnip to good story tellers. Problem is, these authors will be tested to figure out how they'll put their own spin on what sounds like a perfectly executed plan.
Two operators were wounded in the exchange of gunfire. They're in the hospital in serious condition.
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