In a stunning military escalation that has reshaped the geopolitical landscape of the Western Hemisphere, United States elite forces launched Operation Absolute Resolve in the early hours of January 3, 2026. The surgical strike resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores at their residence within the Fuerte Tiuna military complex.
The mission, led by the U.S. Army’s Delta Force and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, involved over 150 aircraft, including F-35 fighter jets and B-1 bombers. In a lightning-fast assault lasting less than 30 minutes, U.S. personnel breached the presidential quarters—reportedly extraction the couple directly from their bedroom—and spiraled them away via helicopter. President Donald Trump confirmed the success of the mission on Truth Social, describing it as a “brilliant operation” to dismantle what he termed a “narco-terrorist regime.”
“The dictator and terrorist Maduro is finally gone,” Trump announced during a follow-up interview. “We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”
The legal justification for the extraction rests on a massive federal indictment. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that both Maduro and Flores were transported to the USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean before their final transfer to New York. They face charges in the Southern District including:
* Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy
* Cocaine Importation Conspiracy
* Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices
Bondi stated the couple would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.” This action mirrors the 1990 capture of Panama’s Manuel Noriega, occurring exactly 36 years to the day after his surrender.
While Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has demanded “proof of life” and condemned the “imperialist attack,” the streets of Caracas remain a mix of shock and heavy military presence. Trump signaled that the U.S. would remain “strongly involved” in the transition, particularly regarding Venezuela’s oil industry, to prevent a power vacuum.
With the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier positioned off the coast and 15,000 U.S. troops in the region, the “maximum pressure” campaign has moved into a new, direct phase of American-led administration.
