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Posted on Jan 05, 2026 / World

Was Maduro's capture in Caracas a unique operation? How was it organized? Why didn't the Venezuelan army repel the US military? And did Trump achieve his goals?

The US Army and Navy operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was a complete success, with no irreparable losses. This was made possible not only by lengthy and painstaking planning, but also by a relatively modest goal: the Donald Trump administration has not yet decided to overthrow the Chavista regime or even temporarily occupy the country. It is this, not the absence of losses, that distinguishes the Caracas raid from combined arms operations (both American ones in the Caribbean and other regions of the world, and, for example, Soviet and Russian ones in Afghanistan and Ukraine). More successful examples for comparison are the US operations to eliminate al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and ISIS "caliph" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Adjusting for complexity: Maduro was not just on friendly territory, but inside a military base in his own capital.

The lack of occupation and decisive action to bring about regime change diminishes the political and strategic value of the operation. The Trump administration clearly expects that, in Maduro's absence and under threat of sharing his fate, the Venezuelan authorities will submit to Washington. It is difficult to judge how justified this calculation is.

How did the operation proceed?

The course of the operation is known only from the sparse official account of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kane, fragmentary information available to American media, and a few videos filmed by Caracas residents.

Between 1 and 2 AM, power went out in part of Caracas. Around 2 AM, the first explosions were heard in the city. Radars and communications complexes on El Vulcano mountain, the port of La Guaira, the nearby naval academy, an air base, and two airports were hit. Judging by the video and photos, the primary targets were air defense installations around the capital (primarily the launchers of the Buk-M2E medium-range air defense battalion). The US military likely also deployed powerful electronic countermeasures, disrupting the operation of the air defense systems and their control systems.

The subsequent airstrikes focused on the Fuerte Tiuna military base on the southern outskirts of Caracas. First, aerial bombs were dropped on the facility, which houses a mechanized battalion guarding the capital (and also houses safe houses for some of the political and military elite), then attack helicopters. Some Venezuelan troops abandoned the base in panic. Almost immediately, low-flying CH-47 Chinook and CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters from the US 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment appeared over the city.

They had been launched earlier from the US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, which (according to satellite imagery) was located in the Caribbean Sea 230 kilometers from Caracas. At 2:00 a.m., the helicopters landed a Delta Force Special Forces team at Maduro's hideout at a military base. After a brief battle (less than half an hour) (in which one helicopter was damaged), the special forces stormed the house and captured Maduro and his wife. They were flown to the Iwo Jima on one of the helicopters. The American aircraft then left the country's airspace. The Americans likely had reserves ready in case of complications: 10 CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft were also deployed for the operation, ready to deploy additional special forces (members of the 75th Ranger Regiment). However, this capability, apparently, was not needed.

Who and how captured the Venezuelan president? We explain what is known about the American military and intelligence operation.

Is this truly a unique operation?

The United States has overthrown and captured undesirable politicians and heads of state before, including in the Caribbean. For example, in 1983, the US Army captured the island nation of Grenada (supported by the USSR and Cuba), and at the turn of 1989 and 1990, it overthrew and captured the de facto dictator of Panama (and its own protege who had broken away from the government) Manuel Noriega. He was later sentenced in the US to a multi-year prison term for organizing drug trafficking (Maduro is now also accused of the same crime). In both cases, the US conducted combined arms operations, accompanied by street fighting, dozens of military and civilian casualties, and widespread destruction. Tens of thousands of troops were involved in the fighting. Both invasions ended in violent regime change.

The current operation is distinguished by its scale and political objectives: it is essentially a special forces raid, which had to be supported by a powerful air force.

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