After launching a nighttime military operation in Venezuela on Saturday, the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on drug charges. A few months before he was taken into custody, the 63-year-old Venezuelan strongman openly challenged US President Donald Trump, daring him to arrest him at the Miraflores presidential palace.
“Come for me. I’ll wait for him here in Miraflores. Don’t be late, you coward,” Maduro declared during an impassioned speech in August, shortly after Washington increased the reward for information leading to his capture.
On Sunday, the White House mocked the Venezuelan leader by posting a video on X. The clip combined footage of Maduro mocking the United States with images from the operation that led to his arrest alongside his wife, Cilia Flores.
What does the video reveal?
The 61-second video also included excerpts from Trump’s press conference on the Venezuela operation, where US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted that Maduro “had his chance — until he didn’t.” The clip ended with Hegseth’s flippant remark, “Went around and found out,” a line that has since gone viral online.
Maduro and Flores were detained during a pre-dawn raid by US special forces in Caracas early Saturday local time. Reports say the couple was sleeping in their home, which is located in the heavily guarded Ft Tiuna military compound, when the raid took place.
He faces charges of “narco-terrorism”, large-scale cocaine trafficking into the United States and illegal possession of weapons. Both are currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
How was Nicolas Maduro captured?
Maduro’s arrest followed the launch of “Operation Absolute Resolve”, authorized by Donald Trump and carried out by elite US troops, including the Army’s Delta Force. According to available information, the operation lasted about half an hour.
The Venezuelan leader was reportedly arrested while trying to escape to a reinforced safe room in the compound.
A number of media outlets have reported that US intelligence has been secretly monitoring Maduro since August.
“How he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what his pets were,” CEO General Committee Chairman Dan Caine said Saturday.
The operation was preceded by months of very precise planning and rehearsal.
Trump revealed that US forces had constructed an exact replica of Maduro’s compound to rehearse the mission in advance. He also said he watched the final moments unfold in real time.
“I watched it literally like I was watching a TV show,” Trump told Fox and Friends, calling the complex a “fortress.”
