{"id":48312,"date":"2026-01-06T22:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/01\/06\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:27:10","slug":"this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/the-americas\/2026\/01\/06\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This was surgical\u2019: The tactics behind the Maduro mission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The entire mission hinged on a narrow break in Venezuela\u2019s weather. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When that window opened, the U.S. military moved fast, launching more than 150 aircraft from 20 bases in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/01\/03\/us-strikes-venezuela-says-nicolas-maduro-has-been-captured\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/01\/03\/us-strikes-venezuela-says-nicolas-maduro-has-been-captured\/\">high-risk operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a> from the country\u2019s populated capital over the weekend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a tightly synchronized mission that lasted less than five hours from authorization to exfiltration, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken Saturday by U.S. forces from their Caracas compound, according to President Donald Trump and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2026\/01\/05\/videos-suggest-stealthy-air-force-drone-flew-recon-for-maduro-capture\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26003793039506.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Videos suggest stealthy Air Force drone flew recon for Maduro capture<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Videos purportedly show the RQ-170 Sentinel returning to Puerto Rico after the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One defense expert, who was not involved in the operation, said that unlike past regime-change operations that involved the deployment of troops en masse, this operation appeared to have been designed to be precise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis was surgical,\u201d Carlton Haelig, a fellow with the defense program at the Center for a New American Security, told Military Times. \u201cBut in terms of the tactical and support elements surrounding it, it was still relatively large scale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though many details remain opaque, the mission, dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, offered a rare public look at how today\u2019s military plans and executes complicated, high-stakes interagency operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Months of planning, days of waiting <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Caine, intelligence planning for the mission began months earlier and relied heavily on intelligence work to track Maduro\u2019s whereabouts \u2014 \u201cwhere he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore,\u201d \u2014 and even information about his pets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a press conference Saturday, Caine said the apprehension would not have been possible without the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, though he did not elaborate on each branch\u2019s exact contributions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adam Taichi Kraft, a former intelligence collection strategist with the Defense Intelligence Agency who now consults on national security issues, speaking generally,<b> <\/b>said that for missions like this, information gathering never stops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIntelligence collection is going on 24\/7, all around the world,\u201d he said in an interview with Military Times. \u201cYou cannot hide; we are in a zero-privacy world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He emphasized that watching people\u2019s behavior \u2014 whether in person or online \u2014 cannot be understated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you are breathing oxygen, if you leave a fingerprint on a cab door, if you go to the doctor, if you order Starbucks, you are opening yourself up to surveillance,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Haelig said mapping the patterns of Maduro\u2019s life was essential, but equally important would also be the military intelligence that enables U.S. forces to safely enter and exit a targeted area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMost of that comes from knowing the enemy\u2019s order of battle \u2014 where their defensive assets are positioned. What are their response capabilities? What needs to occur in order to take those capabilities offline \u2014 whether that\u2019s kinetically \u2014 through missile and air strikes \u2014 or by other means like electronic jamming,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outlets including Reuters and The New York Times reported that the U.S. Army\u2019s elite Delta Force practiced the extraction using a mockup of Maduro\u2019s compound, but officials have not publicly confirmed which units were involved in the mission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even with extensive preparation, operations of this scale carry inherent uncertainty, including the possibility of shifting air defense and unseen threats along a route, Haelig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those risks, he said, \u201cwere almost certainly something that was in the back of the minds of all of the planners and the operators themselves.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yet, the final go-ahead hinged on weather. In a Saturday morning phone interview on \u201cFox and Friends Weekend,\u201d Trump said military forces had been waiting for \u201cdays\u201d until the weather was right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26003670486916.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26003670486916.jpg.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26003670486916.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26003670486916.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26003670486916.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26003670486916.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26003670486916.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This photo, contained in a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump, shows a photo described as being Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday. (TruthSocial via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Into Caracas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump gave the green light at 10:46 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Jan. 2, according to Caine, and over 150 aircraft began to launch across the Western Hemisphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs the night began, the helicopters took off with the extraction force, which included law enforcement officers, and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the water,\u201d Caine said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The helicopters, skimming the water at such a low altitude to avoid detection, were protected by a fleet that included fighter jets, bombers and surveillance aircrafts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After clearing the last stretch of high terrain, leaders determined that the force had maintained the element of surprise, Caine said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The force descended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly after one in the morning Saturday, helicopters arrived at Maduro\u2019s compound. A firefight ensued, and according to Caine, one aircraft was hit but did not sustain catastrophic damage and was able to remain flyable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump said in his \u201cFox and Friends Weekend\u201d interview that Maduro \u201cgot bum-rushed so fast\u201d in \u201ca house that was more like a fortress than a house.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By 3:29 a.m., the force had left the compound with Maduro and his wife and were \u201cover the water,\u201d Caine said, after multiple engagements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump on Saturday posted a <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/115832088990838303\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/115832088990838303\">photo<\/a> of a blindfolded man who he said was Maduro post-capture aboard the USS Iwo Jima. Maduro is now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2026\/01\/04\/maduro-arrives-in-us-trump-says-operation-will-let-us-run-venezuela\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2026\/01\/04\/maduro-arrives-in-us-trump-says-operation-will-let-us-run-venezuela\/\">facing federal criminal charges<\/a> in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/1SEAkRby8X\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/1SEAkRby8X\/\">speech<\/a> that nearly 200 Americans were on the ground in Caracas during the operation; he did not specify if that number represented soldiers or others supporting the operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked to clarify if special operations forces were involved in the mission, the Pentagon declined to comment citing operational security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Col. Allie Weiskopf, the U.S. Special Operations Command director of public affairs, said in an email Tuesday that the operation belonged to the U.S. Southern Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Haelig said that many have speculated \u2014 based on the rotary wing aircraft seen in videos posted on social media<b> <\/b>by people on the ground in Venezuela \u2014 that the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment was involved in the mission. That unit, known as the Night Stalkers, is trained for risky aviation missions at low altitudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey work equally with Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 on missions like this,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cboth are absolutely capable and trained for high value target missions.\u201d Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 are elite units trained to conduct the military\u2019s most sensitive operations \u2014 often at night and in close coordination with intelligence agencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The people selected for these missions, Kraft said, are extremely high caliber and often handpicked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese guys are so well-rehearsed and so mature,\u201d he said, adding \u201cthere are contingencies and branch plans as part of training. They\u2019re always practicing. So if something goes wrong, they\u2019re able to accomplish the mission regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The entire mission hinged on a narrow break in Venezuela\u2019s weather. When that window opened, the U.S. military moved fast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":110553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":48,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,11,36,30,48,226],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3506],"class_list":["post-48312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-smr","category-the-americas","category-venezuela"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"P3UFQX47ZFAILLXRXRGXCQEEQY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2026\/01\/06\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018This was surgical\u2019: The tactics behind the Maduro mission - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The entire mission hinged on a narrow break in Venezuela\u2019s weather. 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When that window opened, the U.S. military moved fast.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/the-americas\/2026\/01\/06\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-06T22:33:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T16:27:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eve Sampson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eve Sampson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/the-americas\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/06\\\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/the-americas\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/06\\\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"\u2018This was surgical\u2019: The tactics behind the Maduro mission\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2026-01-06T22:33:16+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:27:10+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/the-americas\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/06\\\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1116,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/the-americas\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/06\\\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-2253840880.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Special Multimedia Reports\",\n\t                \"The Americas\",\n\t                \"Venezuela\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/the-americas\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/06\\\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/the-americas\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/06\\\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/the-americas\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/06\\\/this-was-surgical-the-tactics-behind-the-maduro-mission\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"\u2018This was surgical\u2019: The tactics behind the Maduro mission - 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