The United States President, Donald Trump, recently confirmed that Delta Force, which is the United States Army’s premier counterterrorism and direct action unit, carried out an overnight mission in Venezuela, leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro along with his wife.
The operation, which Trump would later call “one of the most complex military operations ever conducted by the United States,” included a combined air and ground strike well inside the capital city of Caracas and the surrounding areas.
What is Delta Force and why was it chosen?
Delta Force has another name: 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. It is specialized in high-risk missions for the capture or killing of high-value targets, especially within politically complex environments. Delta Force falls under the United States Special Operations Command and is usually deployed during missions requiring extreme caution and preciseness.
It has before now been pivotal to several of the most significant U.S. military actions, such as the 2003 apprehension of Saddam Hussein, as well as several counter-terrorism raids within Afghanistan and the Middle East against high-ranking al-Qaeda operatives.
According to Military.com, Delta Force operates out of Fort Bragg in North Carolina, which is the nerve center for all of the U.S. Army’s special operations activities. The exact strength of this elite outfit, as well as its commander, is classified information, although it is not clear how many of its operatives were involved in the Venezuela operation.
How was Maduro located before the raid?
According to the BBC’s partner in the US, CBS News, a CIA source in the Venezuelan government was instrumental in locating Maduro’s position prior to the raid. This information was allegedly part of a vast network utilized in the long run to keep track of top Venezuelan leaders.
U.S. officials added that while the CIA helped provide key elements of intelligence and targeting support, the actual capture was conducted solely by U.S. special forces.
What was Operation Absolute Resolve?
Speaking at the same platform with Trump on Saturday, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, said that the operation that went by the code name Operation Absolute Resolve took months of planning and rehearsals while troops waited for favorable weather conditions.
Over 150 US planes were used for insertion missions of an extraction team in Caracas. The assault team stormed into Maduro’s compound at 02:01 local time (06:01 GMT). Trump said of this house, “It was a house that was more like a fortress.” There was a blackout in Caracas during this operation, and Caracas was left in the dark.
How did the capture unfold inside the compound?
Trump said Maduro attempted to flee into a steel-reinforced safe area, managing to get past the door but failing to close it before U.S. forces reached him. “He just couldn’t close it,” Trump said.
The president stated that no U.S. troops were killed, that only “few” were injured, and that he personally watched the operation live as it unfolded.
Maduro and his wife were initially moved by ship, followed by an airplane that landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, which is about 60 miles north of the city of Manhattan. They were later moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, which is a federal prison.
What role did US helicopters and air power play?
While the raid operation was in progress, U.S. Army helicopters have been observed flying “Night Stalkers” of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment inserting special operation forces into Venezuela. Concomitant with this operation, powerful explosions shook the city of Caracas, with columns of smoke being observed in the distance. Various videos of the explosions and helicopters have been circulated on social media platforms but cannot be verified.
Trump said U.S. forces were “prepared for a second wave” but did not need to launch one because the initial assault was “so powerful.”
Where did the strikes take place?
The Venezuelan government declared that various states were attacked, including Miranda, Aragua, as well as La Guaira. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said that civilian zones were also attacked, adding that they were tabulating figures on victims.
BBC Verify has confirmed five locations targeted during the operation:
- Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base (La Carlota)
- Fuerte Tiuna, a key military complex in Caracas
- Port La Guaira, Caracas’ main maritime gateway to the Caribbean
- Higuerote Airport, east of Caracas in Miranda state
- Antenas El Volcán, telecommunications towers on Cerro El Volcán
At least seven explosions were reported in Caracas around 2 a.m. local time, with low-flying aircraft observed across the city.
Trump praised the operation in interviews and on FOX & Friends Weekend, calling it “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence” in history.
“They rehearsed and practiced like nobody’s ever seen,” Trump said.
“There’s no other country on earth that could do such a maneuver.”
He described the scale of the operation — including fighter jets assigned to “every possible situation” — and said the assault penetrated areas “that were not really able to be broken into.” Trump confirmed injuries occurred but said there were no U.S. fatalities and no aircraft losses.
Trump has reported that Maduro and his marriage are now on the USS Iwo Jima ship and will soon be transferred to the United States, with a potential appearance before a federal court in New York City as soon as Monday, as reported by FoxNews.
With growing queries surrounding the legality, nature, and effects of the mission, the operation represents one of the most dramatic U.S. military interventions in South America within the past decades, whose geopolitical theatrics are wide-ranging.
