Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores were taken into custody in a dramatic overnight operation, woken from their sleep and dragged from their bedroom as US forces stormed their residence, CNN reported quoting two sources familiar with the operation.
The surprise raid unfolded inside the high-security Ft Tiuna military compound in Caracas, where the couple had been staying when American commandos moved in. The operation, carried out by the US army’s elite Delta Force, took place early Saturday under the cover of darkness in Caracas and concluded in less than 30 minutes.
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Reacting to the mission, US President Donald Trump said Maduro had been taken from what he described as a “fortress”.
Trump also added that the US “turned off almost all of the lights” in the Venezuelan capital while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.
“He was in a fortress,” Trump told Fox News in a telephone interview.
{{/usCountry}}“He was in a fortress,” Trump told Fox News in a telephone interview.
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Trump confirmed that Maduro was being transported on a US ship to New York City, where he will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Maduro is expected to make his first court appearance on Monday.
Months of planning
Multiple explosions rang out in Caracas early Saturday, accompanied by low-flying aircraft. The assault, which lasted less than 30 minutes, included at least seven blasts that sent residents rushing outside.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the months of planning that went into the operation. “We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” he said.
“Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.” US forces reportedly studied every detail of Maduro’s life, from his routines and diet to his pets and clothing.
Video from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed smoke and tracer fire filling the skyline as muted explosions lit up the night.
Following the raid, the US Department of Justice announced that Maduro played a central role in a decades-long conspiracy to traffic cocaine into the United States, working with regional drug and terrorist groups. The DOJ also released an updated indictment naming Maduro’s wife and son among new defendants.
If convicted, Maduro could face life in prison under US sentencing guidelines. The Venezuelan leader, who was first charged by the US in 2020 with a $50 million reward offered for his capture, has consistently denied involvement in the drug trade.
Maduro’s government accused the US of attacking both civilian and military installations, labeling the action an “imperialist attack” and calling on citizens to take to the streets.
(With agency inputs)