Early Saturday, the United States executed a military operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The unprecedented pre-dawn raid, carried out by U.S. special forces, transported the couple to the United States to face federal charges in New York. President Donald Trump called the operation “spectacular,” highlighting that no American service members were killed and no U.S. equipment was lost.
The mission was the culmination of months of planning. Intelligence agencies had tracked Maduro’s movements since August, building detailed profiles of his routines and security measures. The U.S. also carried out strikes on drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in recent months, targeting vessels and docks linked to cartels, according to officials. These operations aimed both to combat drug trafficking and to weaken Maduro’s ability to detect U.S. military activity.
Trump described Maduro’s Caracas compound as heavily fortified, including a steel-lined safe room. U.S. forces were prepared to breach it, but Maduro was intercepted before he could enter. The operation involved Delta Force troops, who had trained on a full-scale replica of the presidential residence. Trump said the raid unfolded like a “television show,” lasting less than 30 minutes.
More than 150 U.S. aircraft participated in the mission, including helicopters, fighter jets, bombers, and drones, coordinated across 20 bases throughout the Western Hemisphere. The helicopters approached Caracas at low altitude to avoid detection, while U.S. Cyber and Space Commands disrupted Venezuelan defenses. Trump noted that parts of Caracas’ power grid were temporarily disabled during the assault.
A firefight broke out as the forces moved into the compound. One U.S. aircraft was damaged but remained operational, and a small number of American service members sustained injuries. Maduro and Flores were ultimately taken into custody without American fatalities and were later transported aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima before being flown to New York.
The couple faces a new federal indictment accusing them of narco-terrorism conspiracy. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated they would be tried “on American soil in American courts.” Trump framed the operation as part of a broader “war” against drug trafficking, claiming the Venezuelan government protected cartel networks.
Legal questions remain over the raid. Congressional leaders said they were not briefed in advance, and some lawmakers questioned whether the President had authority to authorize the strike without explicit approval. Trump signaled that the United States would temporarily oversee Venezuela, stating, “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
The raid represents the first U.S. capture of a sitting foreign leader in more than 30 years, raising questions about international law and U.S. interventionism while dramatically escalating tensions in Latin America.
