Overview
- Operation Absolute Resolve launched more than 150 aircraft from about 20 bases, using cyber and space effects to suppress defenses for a low‑level helicopter insertion that reached Maduro’s compound at 1:01 a.m. ET and exited over water by 3:29 a.m.
- The apprehension team included U.S. special operations personnel and law enforcement officers, and Maduro and Cilia Flores were taken into Justice Department custody aboard the USS Iwo Jima for transfer to face unsealed SDNY narcotics and terrorism charges.
- U.S. forces encountered heavy gunfire during the raid; one helicopter was hit but remained flyable, officials reported no American fatalities, and media reports cited non–life-threatening injuries to a small number of personnel.
- President Trump gave final approval at 10:46 p.m. ET after weather delays, watched the mission in real time, and said a larger second wave was prepared but not needed.
- U.S. officials say forces remain on alert in the region as the administration signals temporary oversight of Venezuela, drawing Republican praise and Democratic objections over legal authority and lack of congressional notification.