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washington – After months of preparation that included building a replica of Nicolás Maduro’s building and studying his daily habits, US troops arrived at the Venezuelan president’s home in the city of Caracas shortly after 2 a.m. local time on Saturday.
President Trump and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, elaborated a remarkable feat that ended with Maduro’s capture to bring him to the US to face narcoterrorism charges.
Mr. Trump gave the final go-ahead for the mission Friday at 10:46 p.m. ET, telling military leaders, “Good luck and godspeed,” Caine told reporters Saturday afternoon during a news conference at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Throughout the night, planes took off from 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere towards Venezuela. Caine said the operation, called Operation Absolute Resolve, involved more than 150 aircraft.
“As the night began, the helicopters took off with the military, including law enforcement, and began flying towards Venezuela 100 meters above the water,” said Caine.
As the helicopters approached the coast, they were protected by other aircraft, including drones, bombers and fighter jets. The US dispersed and disabled Venezuela’s air defense systems as the helicopters approached Caracas, according to Caine, who also said they deployed weapons “to ensure that the helicopters move safely to the target area.”
Mr. Trump said the lights in Caracas were very dark “because of some experience we have.”
“As the troops descended to the last high point where they had been hiding in the rubble, we checked that we were still in awe,” said Caine.
When they arrived at the compound, the helicopters caught fire but remained operational, Caine said.
“Many shots were fired,” said Mr.
The US military and the FBI eventually entered the compound, where Maduro and his wife “surrendered” and were taken into custody, Caine said.
Mr. Trump said Maduro tried to escape when he was captured.
“He was trying to get into a safe place,” said Mr. Trump told reporters. “The safe place is metal, and he couldn’t get to the door because our guys were too fast.”
“It was a very thick door, a very heavy door,” said Mr. “He got to the door. He couldn’t close it.”
But even if Maduro had entered the safe room, Mr. Trump said the military could have blown up the door in about “47 seconds.”
After Maduro and his wife were captured, helicopters moved in to evacuate them. Fighter jets and drones also provided protection during their flight out of the country. Caine said there were “a lot of defensive conversations” during the withdrawal.
“The soldiers successfully evacuated and returned to their launch site, and the force was fully loaded at 3:29 a.m. Eastern Standard Time with the suspects,” Caine said.
The United States began planning this program months ago, and US intelligence agencies are working “to find Maduro and understand how he moved, where he lived, where he went, what he ate, what he wore, what pets he had,” Caine said.
The operation had been ready to go since early December, but the US was waiting for the right time to minimize casualties and increase surprise, Caine said, adding that it also depended on the weather.
“Last night, the weather was disturbed enough, it opened up a path that only the best pilots in the world can travel – sea, mountain, low clouds, roof,” Caine said.
