U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States carried out an overnight operation that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in a military strike Trump described as “Absolute Resolve.”
Speaking at a news conference in Florida on Saturday, Trump said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown by helicopter to a U.S. warship and then would be taken to New York to face charges. He said the operation unfolded under the cover of darkness and involved U.S. forces holding in the region while planners awaited conditions that would allow pilots clear routes into Caracas.
Trump said the U.S. operation was designed as a mission with careful preparation. He described months of intelligence study that included learning minute details about Maduro, and he said U.S. special forces rehearsed a plan to forcibly remove him. He also said the extensive planning included practice using a replica of the presidential compound, built with steel-walled safe-room features intended to be cut open if needed to extract Maduro and Flores.
Trump further described the plan in operational terms from his perspective, saying U.S. forces waited for weather and that he expected their approach to rely on expertise to manage conditions inside Venezuela. He also said on “Fox & Friends Weekend” that Maduro “didn’t get that space closed” and that he was “bum-rushed right so fast that he didn’t get into that.”
At the news conference, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning information about Maduro including his schedule and details about his pets and clothing. Caine said his forces were “set” by early December, adding that the aim was “to ensure we cannot get it wrong,” describing an iterative cycle of development, training, rehearsal and debriefing before repeating practice.
Caine and Trump both referenced timing tied to weather. Trump said the U.S. held off on conducting the operation for days and waited four days for cloud cover to pass, while Caine said that on Friday night the weather “broke just enough” to clear a path into Caracas that he said would require “the most skilled aviators in the world.” Caine said helicopters flew low to the water to enter Venezuela and were covered above by protective U.S. aircraft.
Trump characterized the strike as rapid and lethal, saying “it was dark and it was deadly,” and he said “the lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have,” while offering no additional details. The report said the attack lasted less than 30 minutes, and that at least seven explosions were heard in Caracas overnight.
In response, Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who under law takes power, demanded the U.S. free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader. The report said Rodríguez also left open the possibility of dialogue, saying: “We are willing to have respectful relations.” The report said she told state television that some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed.
Caracas residents said they noticed the strike’s effects during the early hours. Yanire Lucas, whose home sits next to a Venezuelan military base that was struck overnight, said she began to hear explosions around 1:50 in the morning. Trump said some U.S. members were injured but that he believed no one was killed, while Caine said one helicopter was struck by fire as it closed in on Maduro’s compound but was able to return safely.
Trump said Maduro and Flores were flown to the United States by helicopter and that he planned to put Maduro on trial after bringing him to New York. The report said Trump posted on Truth Social a photo of Maduro wearing a gray sweatsuit, protective headphones and blindfold.
The seizure was described as an escalation of a broader U.S. military campaign that Trump said targeted boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that carried drugs. The report said Trump had previously warned that the U.S. might conduct strikes in Venezuela, including a Dec. 29 statement that the U.S. struck a facility where boats accused of carrying drugs “load up.” It also said the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels and characterized it as the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the strikes began in September.
Trump said he would direct the path forward for Venezuela, and he said the group of officials standing behind him — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Caine and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — would “be a team that’s working with the people of Venezuela.” He also left open the possibility of a U.S. presence on the ground, saying: “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to,” and adding: “We had boots on the ground last night.” Trump said the U.S. would “run” the country until a new leader could be chosen, saying, “We’re going to make sure that country is run properly. We’re not doing this in vain,” and he warned that “This is a very dangerous attack” that “could have gone very, very badly.”