President Donald Trump takes questions as he speaks to the press following military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 3, 2026. Credit - Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images
By early Saturday morning, the United States had taken a step not seen inmore than three decades: capturing a sitting foreign leader and flying him out of the country to face criminal charges in New York.
Read more:How the World Is Reacting to the U.S. Capture of Nicolas Maduro
President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized ina pre-dawn raidin Caracas by American special operations forces, the culmination of months of covert intelligence work and steadily escalating military pressure ordered by President Donald Trump to oust the authoritarian leader. The operation, officials said, unfolded in less than half an hour overnight but drew on weeks of rehearsals and a vast armada of aircraft and intelligence assets that tracked Maduro's behavioral habits.
Speaking from Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, Trump praised what he called a "spectacular assault" on several military facilities in the oil-rich nation, adding that no American service members were killed and no U.S. military equipment was lost. "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday," he said.
Read more:Trump Signals Long-Term Involvement in Venezuela After Capturing President
Below is how the operation unfolded—and what comes next.
Months of pressure
The raid on Maduro's compound was the endpoint of a strategy Trump began accelerating last fall, after authorizing the C.I.A. to take a more aggressive posture toward Venezuela. The New YorkTimesreportedthat C.I.A. officers working clandestinely inside the country since August built a detailed picture of Maduro's "pattern of life"—where he lived, how he moved, and when he was most vulnerable.
The covert campaign ran in parallel with an increasingly overt show of force. Since September, the Trump Administration has ordered dozens of strikes on boats accused of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 115 people. In late December, the C.I.A. carried out a drone strike on a Venezuelan dock believed to be used by drug traffickers.
Administration officials said the strikes were intended to take down transnational drug cartels, arguing that Venezuelan territory had become central to trafficking routes into the United States But the campaign also served a broader strategic purpose: degrading Venezuela's ability to detect or respond to American military movements, while signaling to Maduro that Trump was prepared to act directly on Venezuelan soil.
The raid on Maduro's compound
Trump described Maduro as heavily protected inside a presidential compound in Caracas he likened to a fortress. "It had steel doors, it had what they call a safety space where it's solid steel all around," Trump said to reporters on Saturday.
He added that U.S. forces were prepared to cut through those steel walls with blow torches if Maduro locked himself in the safe room, but the Venezuelan leader was unable to close the door in time.
"He was trying to get into it, but he got bum-rushed right so fast that he didn't get into that. We were prepared," Trump continued.
The military had rehearsed the operation using a replica of Maduro's safe house, Trump added, allowing the special forces to break through steel doors in a matter of seconds. "They actually built a house which was identical to the one they went into, with all the same steel all over the place," Trump said.
"I watched it literally like you are watching a television show," he added. "It was an amazing thing."
The operation was carried out by an elite U.S. Army special operations unit known as Delta Force, which specializes in covert and dangerous missions at the direction of the president.
'Good luck and Godspeed'
Trump said the U.S. intended to carry out the operation "four days ago," but that the weather nearly delayed the mission.
"Over the weeks through Christmas and New Year's, the men and women of the United States military sat ready," said General Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, waiting for conditions that would minimize civilian harm and maximize surprise.
According to General Caine, the final order to strike Venezuela came late Friday night. "At 10:46 p.m. ET, the President ordered the United States military to move forward with this mission," he said. "He said to us, 'Good luck and Godspeed.'"
Over the next several hours, more than 150 aircraft—including bombers, fighter jets, surveillance planes, helicopters and drones—launched from 20 bases on land and at sea across the Western Hemisphere. Thousands of flight hours were airborne at once, General Caine said, in an operation he called "audacious" and "unprecedented" in its complexity.
The helicopters carrying the apprehension force, which included U.S. law enforcement officers, skimmed toward Venezuela at roughly 100 feet above the water to avoid detection. As they approached the coast, U.S. Cyber Command, Space Command and other agencies layered effects overhead to protect the aircraft and preserve surprise, General Caine said.
Trump said American forces shut down much of Caracas's power during the operation. "It was dark," he said. "The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have."
As helicopters neared the city, U.S. aircraft disabled Venezuelan air defense systems to clear a path. By 1:01 a.m. Eastern time—2:01 a.m. in Caracas—the helicopters arrived at Maduro's compound.
A firefight during the raid
General Caine said that as the apprehension force descended and moved to isolate the area, helicopters came under fire, prompting American forces to respond "with overwhelming force and self defense."
One U.S. aircraft was hit but remained flyable, and all aircraft returned safely, he added.
On the ground, intelligence teams provided real-time updates, allowing the force to navigate the compound and avoid unnecessary risk. Maduro and Flores, both indicted in the United States on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, surrendered and were taken into custody without any American loss of life.
"A couple of guys were hit," Trump said, referring to U.S. service members who were injured. "But they came back and they're supposed to be in pretty good shape."
The entire assault lasted less than 30 minutes, though explosions and low-flying aircraft sent shock waves through Caracas. It is currently unclear how many members of the Venezuelan military were killed.
After securing the couple, U.S. forces called in helicopters to extract the team while fighter jets and drones provided overhead cover. By 3:29 a.m. Eastern time, General Caine said, the helicopters were back over open water with Maduro and Flores on board. They were later transferred to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, where Trump said they were held en-route to New York.
On Saturday morning, Trump posted on his Truth Social account a photo of Maduro blindfolded and in a sweatsuit aboard the ship.
@realDonaldTrump/Handout/Reuters" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Why Trump authorized the operation
Trump framed the raid as both a law enforcement action and an act of war against drug trafficking networks he says are protected by the Venezuelan state.
"We had to do it because it's a war," he said, citing what he described as an armed conflict with cartels moving drugs toward the United States.
The Justice Department unsealed a new indictment on Saturday accusing Maduro and Flores of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the couple would soon face justice "on American soil in American courts."
Still, the legal authority for the strike remains contested. Congressional leaders said the administration had not notified the Armed Services Committees in advance, and some lawmakers questioned whether the President could authorize such an operation without explicit approval from Congress.
Trump said the United States planned to oversee Venezuela until a transition of power could be arranged. "We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
Write toNik Popli atnik.popli@time.com.
