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A retired Delta Force veteran offered new insight into the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro, revealing the most difficult part of the mission and describing the elite army special operations the unit as “more refined than ever”.
John McPhee, who served in the U.S. Army’s elite special operations unit, told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday that the mission’s biggest challenge occurred before the operators reached their objective.
“I would say the hardest task is to destroy all the air defenses and get the guys on the ground,” McPhee said. “Once guys are down, they can handle themselves. However, you have to fight if you want to fight.”
Trump reveals Venezuela’s Maduro was captured in ‘fortress-like’ house
President Donald Trump said the military launched a “full-scale” attack on Venezuela and captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
McPhee emphasized that operations of this scale require extensive preparation and coordination.
“It would take months to plan and organize something like this. But once the guys figure that out, there’s no stopping them,” he said.
During the raid, US Army Helicopters of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the “Night Stalkers,” sent the special operations forces to Venezuela, officials said.
At least seven explosions were heard in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and low-flying planes were seen over the city around 2 a.m. local time, according to reports.
The CIA provided intelligence to the War Department that helped guide Delta Force toward Maduro and his wife, who President Donald Trump said were apprehended during the U.S. military operation.
Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro was captured by the US army on January 3, 2026. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
Despite the complexity of the strike, McPhee expressed confidence in the military planning for every possible scenario.
“All these little details were looked at, tweaked, so there was no little detail that could stop everything these guys did.”
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He said the mission highlighted how sophisticated the force had become, adding that America could “use a ground force like no one has used in history.”
“These guys plan for this, they train for this. They basically spend their entire adult lives on this one mission,” McPhee said.
No Americans were killed during the mission, a feat praised by Trump.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan, Rachel Wolf, David Spunt and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
