President Donald Trump and senior administration officials watch the raid from a secure command room at Mar-A-Lago
The official codename for the operation — which was conducted in the early hours of January 3, 2026 — was Operation Absolute Resolve. It involved a large-scale strike on Venezuela, culminating in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The strikes began early in the morning with airstrikes targeting Venezuelan air defenses and military installations in Caracas and other locations, including reported hits on bases like Fuerte Tiuna and La Carlota. These precision strikes, which included seven blasts lasting less than 30 minutes, were designed to neutralize threats and create a safe corridor for ground forces, General Caine said during a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
After President Trump directly addressed service members participating in the raid, U.S. warplanes disabled radar systems and anti-aircraft batteries, allowing helicopters to penetrate the capital amid explosions and low-flying aircraft sightings.
After President Trump directly addressed service members participating in the raid, U.S. warplanes disabled radar systems and anti-aircraft batteries, allowing helicopters to penetrate the capital amid explosions and low-flying aircraft sightings.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth watches Operation Absolute Resolve alongside President Trump
The raid itself was a nighttime extraction mission that lasted approximately two hours and 20 minutes, involving around 150 aircraft and coordinated efforts from U.S. military branches, intelligence agencies, and the Department of Justice. After months of planning and rehearsals, special forces teams entered Caracas via helicopters and located Maduro based on carefully gathered intelligence.
One helicopter team came under fire during the operation, but Maduro and his wife reportedly surrendered without further resistance and were taken into custody. They were subsequently flown out of the country, with images later showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima en route to face U.S. charges related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.
Photo: Truth Social
American forces reported no fatalities or major equipment losses during the operation, though some personnel were wounded, one aircraft was hit but remained operational, and a helicopter sustained damage. Venezuelan casualty estimates remain unclear, with reports indicating an unknown number of deaths and injuries from the strikes.
President Trump announced during a press conference Saturday that the United States will be assisting Venezuela in setting up an interim government, as well as bringing in U.S. oil firms to revitalize the nation’s energy sector to the benefit of both the people of Venezuela and the United States.