Planning for the United States’ operation to capture President Nicolás Maduro following the attacks on Venezuela reportedly took several months and involved extensive rehearsals. At least seven explosions were reported during the attack, which lasted less than 30 minutes and appeared to target military infrastructure.
A senior Venezuelan official told The New York Times that preliminary reports indicated that at least 40 people, both military and civilians, were killed in the US attack on Venezuela early Saturday morning.
How did the US plan Operation Absolute Resolve?
Elite U.S. forces, including the Army’s Delta Force, reportedly built a full-scale mock-up of Maduro’s safe house and practiced breaching the heavily secured compound. US spies have been watching Maduro’s every move for months.
Starting in August, a small CIA team on the ground gathered detailed information about Maduro’s daily routines, which one source said facilitated his capture, Reuters reported. Beginning in August, the CIA also deployed an undercover team of officers inside Venezuela to gather information on Maduro’s “pattern of life” and movements, a person familiar with the effort said, The New York Times reported.
Two sources told Reuters the agency also relied on an asset in Maduro’s inner circle to track his movements and be ready to pinpoint his exact location as the operation progressed.
A core group, including senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, has been working on the matter for months, holding frequent meetings and phone calls, sometimes daily, according to a Reuters source. They also met regularly with the president.
With preparations complete, Trump reportedly approved the mission four days early, although military and intelligence officials recommended delaying it until the weather improved and cloud cover cleared. At 10:46 p.m. EST on Friday, Trump issued final approval for the mission, dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.
More than 150 aircraft, including bombers, fighter jets and surveillance planes, were involved overnight, according to US officials. The Pentagon has directed a massive military build-up in the Caribbean, deploying an aircraft carrier, 11 warships and more than a dozen F-35 fighter jets. In all, over 15,000 US troops have been deployed to the region as part of what officials have consistently called anti-drug missions.
US-Venezuela conflict
The attack comes after months of mounting pressure from the Trump administration, which has increased its naval presence off South America and launched deadly strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean since early September. Just last week, the US conducted a CIA drone strike on Venezuelan soil at a dock allegedly used by drug cartels. By Friday, the Trump administration said there had been 35 strikes that had left at least 115 dead.
Venezuela
