A covert operation carried out by the United States to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has sent shockwaves across the world, with details revealing months of meticulous planning and execution. According to reports, the operation was prepared well in advance, with US intelligence agencies closely monitoring Maduro’s movements and coordinating a complex military strategy in and around Venezuela. The mission reportedly culminated in Maduro being taken into US custody following a high-risk operation near the Caribbean region.
Sources said a CIA team entered Venezuela as early as August, conducting extensive surveillance on Maduro’s movements in and around the capital, Caracas. Intelligence agencies tracked his daily routines, mapped locations he frequented, and deployed stealth drones to discreetly monitor key areas. Despite the absence of a US diplomatic mission in Venezuela, the CIA continued its operation using covert and strategic channels to gather critical intelligence.
Delta Force commandos, meanwhile, prepared for the mission at the US Special Operations Command in Kentucky, where a replica of Maduro’s residence was constructed for rehearsals. Intelligence inputs indicated that Maduro was moving across multiple locations, complicating efforts to pinpoint his exact whereabouts. Eventually, agencies confirmed his presence at a compound that closely matched the site where special forces had trained. Simultaneously, the US positioned special operations aircraft, armed drones, electronic warfare units, fighter jets, and naval assets along the Venezuelan coast as part of the broader operation.
The timing of the mission was initially planned around the Christmas and New Year holiday period, when reduced staffing was expected to aid the operation, but unfavorable weather conditions led to repeated delays. Final authorization was reportedly given late on a Friday night, following which special units were deployed using modified MH-60 and MH-47 helicopters. Delta Force commandos were the first to secure the compound, with the operation being monitored in real time by then-President Donald Trump from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Reports state that Maduro and his wife attempted to move into a reinforced safe room but were intercepted by US forces and taken into custody. In the early hours of Saturday, the couple was flown to a US naval vessel, the USS Iwo Jima, and later transferred to the Guantanamo Bay naval base before being moved to the United States. The unprecedented detention of a sitting Venezuelan president by the US has triggered global reactions and intense diplomatic discussions.