US officials reveal new details of covert operation to capture Maduro

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed new details Monday about American operation to capture and arrest Nicolas Madurodescribing a meticulously planned raid that completely took the Venezuelan leader by surprise.

Speaking to sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in Newport News, Virginia, Hegseth said Maduro was only warned of the U.S. approach moments before U.S. forces arrived.

“Nicolás Maduro met three days ago with tall Americans wearing night vision goggles,” Hegseth said. “He didn’t know they were coming until three minutes before they arrived. In fact, his wife said, ‘I think I hear planes outside.’ They didn’t know it. Do you know why? Because each element in this chain has done its job. »

About 200 Americans carried out the night raid Saturday at Maduro’s residence in downtown Caracas, Hegseth said. Fighter jets and bombers struck Venezuelan air defenses, clearing the way for Delta Force commandos to close in on the compound, where they came under heavy fire.

“They got off the helicopter and bullets were flying everywhere,” President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. “As you know, one of the helicopters was badly hit, but we recovered everything.”

Several American soldiers were injured during the operation, according to American officials. Dozens of Venezuelans were killed, along with 32 Cuban citizens who were part of Maduro’s security forces, the Cuban government said.

“There were a lot of deaths on the other side, unfortunately. But a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday trying to protect it,” Trump said.

Once U.S. forces entered the compound, they intercepted Maduro before he could reach a safe room, officials said. The raid had been rehearsed for months using a replica of Maduro’s residence to prepare for several scenarios.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the operation was built around repetition and redundancy.

“We think, we develop, we practice, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, not to get it right, but to make sure we can’t go wrong,” Caine said.

CIA personnel in Venezuela had been monitoring Maduro’s movements since August, including through an agent who penetrated his entourage and provided critical intelligence, according to U.S. officials.

Meanwhile, a massive US military presence remains positioned off the coast of Venezuela. American forces are planning to intercept another sanctioned tanker they have been pursuing for months, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the plans.