Strongman Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured early Saturday morning in a daring raid by US special operations forces on the Miraflores Palace presidential compound in Caracas.
The raid, dubbed Absolute Resolve, involved US special operations forces inserting into the heavily fortified compound via helicopter at 0100.
A firefight reportedly took place between guards assigned to the palace and the American special operators, with several members of Maduro’s personal security team reportedly killed.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the former president of the National Assembly, attempted to escape to a safe room, though both were captured before they could do so at 0200.
One American helicopter was reportedly struck by ground fire but was able to continue flying and return to base safely.
The operation involved some 150 American military aircraft, to include stealth fighters, bombers, armed drones and attack helicopters.
American warplanes struck multiple ground targets, including Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military installation located in southern Caracas, La Carlota Air Base in eastern Caracas, and the country’s largest international seaport in La Guaira, the capital city in the northern state of the same name.
Anti-air defenses and aircraft at Higuerote Airport in the north-central Miranda State were also hit.
Most of the targets struck were military radar installations, communications centers and anti-aircraft missile batteries, intended to clear a path for the helicopter insertion force.
Explosions were also reported in El Hatillo, an affluent suburb on the southeastern edge of Caracas where many high-ranking government and military officials are believed to reside.
No Americans were killed in the raid, though a handful were reportedly wounded when the helicopter was hit.
At least 40 Venezuelans were reportedly killed in the attacks, though this figure does not differentiate between military and security forces personnel and civilians.
Yesterday, the Cuban government announced that 32 of its military officers, believed to be part of Maduro’s personal security team, were killed, underscoring the close cooperation between the two governments.
The operation, which had reportedly been in planning for months, relied heavily on intelligence gathered by a CIA covert team operating inside Venezuela and closely tracking Maduro’s daily movements.
Following their capture, Maduro and Flores were flown to the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship positioned off the coast of Venezuela.
From there, the two were flown to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before continuing to New York, where they arrived yesterday at 1630 and were transferred by U.S. federal law enforcement agents to the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City.
Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York in March 2020 on charges ranging from narco-terrorism conspiracy and drug importation to possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
Flores faces similar charges related to narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as bribery.
Maduro is expected to make his first court appearance today.
The US has long accused Maduro of heading the Cartel de Los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), a powerful drug trafficking network led by senior Venezuelan military leaders and members of the country’s security establishment.
The Trump Administration had been steadily ramping up pressure on the Maduro regime throughout the fall by amassing a large naval and air force presence in the Caribbean.
The US military also conducted routine strikes on suspected drug smuggling boats in the region, attacking at least 35 vessels and killing more than 114 people since September.
US naval and Coast Guard forces also imposed a blockade on the country, seizing two oil tankers last month believed to be transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela to buyers in Cuba and Asia, the regime’s primary source of revenue.
On 24 December, the CIA carried out a drone strike against a remote dock facility believed to be used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (Train from Aragua).
US officials assessed that the dock was used to store drugs and transfer them onto boats.
In a press conference Saturday morning following the operation, President Donald Trump touted the success of the raid while also stating that the US would “run Venezuela” until a proper democratic transition can take place, though he provided no additional details on what that would entail.
Trump also stated that a second wave of military strikes had been readied, though the attack was ultimately called off.
The US Department of War confirmed on Sunday that there are currently no US ground forces in the country.
Trump further stated that the US would seize the country’s oil production industry and vast oil reserves, adding that American multinational oil corporations would eventually move back into the country to handle the drilling, refinement and export of the country’s oil.
He provided no timetable for this to occur.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who is also the oil minister, was elevated to acting president following Maduro’s capture as part of the country’s constitutional succession plan, approved by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Spanish abbr: TSJ), an arm of the dictatorship.
Trump has stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in contact with Rodriguez, though it is unclear what, if anything, has been agreed.
Rodriguez, who has served as vice president since being appointed by Maduro in June 2018, is considered a hardline Maduro loyalist and reportedly maintains close ties with Cuban intelligence.
She has denounced Maduro’s arrest, labeling him the only legitimate president of the country and demanding his immediate return.
Trump retorted by threatening the interim president with a fate similar to Maduro’s if she did not assist the US in governing a post-Maduro Venezuela.
Rodriguez appeared to soften her rhetoric yesterday, calling in a social media post for “a balanced and respectful relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela,” and going so far as to “extend an invitation to the U.S. government to work together on an agenda for cooperation aimed at shared development.”
Also still in power are Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
Like Rodriguez, both Lopez and Cabello are hardline Chavistas and Maduro supporters who maintain a firm grip on the country’s military and security establishment.
Both men were also indicted in March 2020 for their alleged leadership roles in the Cartel de Los Soles.
Any substantive engagement with the Trump administration would likely require the buy-in of hardliners like Lopez and Cabello, raising questions about how far the leftist regime rooted in anti-imperialist ideology can realistically bend.
Videos circulating on social media over the weekend showed gunmen in civilian clothes erecting checkpoints at major intersections in Caracas.
The gunmen are believed to be members of the colectivos, paramilitary gangs loyal to the Maduro regime that have been armed and funded by the government.
Other reports over the weekend indicated mass desertions at military bases throughout the country, though the scale of these desertions remains difficult to verify.
Regardless, it is too early to determine to what extent the military and security forces will fall in line with a new government, as their leadership ranks are lined with Maduro loyalists, often under the supervision of Cuban intelligence operatives.
Also unclear is what role, if any, leading opposition figure Maria Corina Machado will play in a post-Chavismo Venezuela.
A former National Assembly member and twice a presidential contender, she has been an implacable foe of Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, the icon of Venezuelan socialism.
Despite the apparent shock to the regime, the opposition has so far remained marginalized and has been unable to seize on recent developments to assert itself politically.
Out of fear of regime repression, opposition figures have largely urged supporters to remain off the streets for the time being.
The situation bears monitoring.
This service long has advised against travel to Venezuela.
