For years, Nicolás Maduro was viewed by the West as an illegitimate ruler who rigged elections and drove Venezuela into ruin. But overnight Saturday, in a rare and daring military operation, his grip on power came to an end. U.S. Delta Force troops captured Maduro deep inside a fortified compound in Caracas, in a mission based on months of covert intelligence gathering by the CIA. This is how the dictator was captured—step by step.
For an extended period, the CIA and broader U.S. intelligence community closely tracked Maduro’s movements. The intelligence operation relied on field agents inside Venezuela, wiretaps of elite presidential guard units and high-resolution satellite imagery. According to The New York Times, a CIA team had been operating clandestinely in Venezuela since August, collecting data on Maduro’s movement patterns—crucial intelligence for the raid’s success.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump
(Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Washington Post reported that the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, which played a central role in the operation, had been stationed in the Caribbean for months ahead of the mission. It was part of a dramatic U.S. military buildup in the region—the largest in decades.
The Iwo Jima was joined by two other Navy vessels, the USS New York and USS Fort Lauderdale, both deployed in August. Altogether, the U.S. had about 12 warships in the area, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. Fighter jets were also positioned in nearby Puerto Rico.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine called the operation a “culmination of months of planning and rehearsal,” executed in a matter of hours. Speaking at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, hours after the raid’s success, Caine said the mission required coordination across all branches of the military and intelligence services. “We tracked Maduro to understand how he moved, where he lived, how he traveled, what he ate, what he wore,” Caine said.
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Panic in the streets of Caracas as US forces bombed the Venezuelan capital
(Photo: AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Meanwhile, elite U.S. troops—including members of Delta Force—constructed a precise replica of Maduro’s hideout and drilled repeatedly on breaching and navigating the fortified structure before launching the real operation.
Two sources familiar with the operation told Reuters that the CIA had a source inside the Venezuelan government who helped locate and track Maduro. The critical information emerged in the final days of 2025, when an unusual “pattern of behavior” was identified at the Puerta Tizona military base in Caracas, described as the regime’s most fortified stronghold. Intelligence indicated that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were staying at the base.
CBS reported that U.S. President Donald Trump approved the extensive strike several days earlier. Administration officials speaking to the network said U.S. military planners had considered launching the operation on Christmas but chose to prioritize strikes against Islamic State in Nigeria. According to the report, there were additional “attack windows” in the days after Christmas, but the mission was again delayed due to weather conditions. Officials said the military wanted better weather to gain an operational advantage.
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Security forces deployed outside the presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela
(Photo: AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Ultimately, four days after receiving the critical intelligence, Trump gave the order to execute the operation. At 2:00 a.m. local time in Caracas, the mission began with a series of powerful explosions that shook the Venezuelan capital. U.S. Air Force aircraft struck strategic targets, primarily radar and communications systems, to cripple the army’s ability to respond. Residents of Caracas filmed unusually low-flying jets and reported widespread power outages.
The intense aerial assault served as a diversion to “fix” presidential guard forces in place while the U.S. commando team closed in on the real target—President Maduro.
The Delta Force raid
In tandem with the aerial diversion, U.S. Delta Force transport helicopters landed dozens of elite troops inside Maduro's residential compound at Puerta Tizona. The team stormed the site using advanced weaponry and flashbang grenades, encountering resistance. Several U.S. soldiers were injured, but the unit breached the security perimeters within minutes. Gen. Caine said real-time updates from intelligence units in the air and on the ground helped guide the team toward their target.
According to some reports, the highly trained operatives quickly made their way to the room where Maduro was located. Realizing that U.S. forces had infiltrated the base, Maduro reportedly tried to flee through a rear corridor to a fortified area behind a heavy steel door. However, the Delta Force team, equipped with precise maps of the facility, reached the location before he and his wife could escape. They were captured before opening the door. CNN, however, reported that Maduro and his wife were seized while asleep in their bedroom.
According to President Trump, even if Maduro and his wife had managed to escape the compound, they would have been caught by a second Delta Force unit positioned in advance. After their capture, the pair were restrained and evacuated by helicopter within minutes.
Over three hours after the attack began—and before any official confirmation from the White House or the U.S. military—Trump announced on social media that “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader,” confirming that Maduro and his wife had been apprehended and flown out of the country.
'Months to plan, hours to execute'
Maduro was not flown directly to the United States due to security and sovereignty considerations. Instead, the helicopter transported the presidential couple to the USS Iwo Jima, stationed in international waters in the Caribbean Sea. Onboard, they underwent biometric identification and an initial medical screening before being placed on a U.S. military transport aircraft bound for the United States.
Once on U.S. soil, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi officially announced that the ousted president would face trial in the Southern District of New York. He is to be indicted based on a long-standing investigation that includes serious charges of "narco-terrorism," conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S. and unlawful possession of heavy weapons.
Bondi confirmed that Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, will also stand trial, though her specific charges were not disclosed. She was not included in the original indictment filed against Maduro six years ago. “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi wrote on X.
Gen. Caine said the operation involved more than 150 aircraft launched from 20 different bases across the Western Hemisphere, including the helicopters that carried Delta Force. According to Caine, it took approximately two and a half hours from the moment of the helicopters’ landing to the exfiltration of Maduro and Flores, who were then transferred to the Iwo Jima. “Had any single part of this finely-tuned machine failed, the entire mission could have collapsed,” he said.