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New Delhi: The United States has described the large-scale military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as one of the "most complex and precise missions" conducted by US forces in recent years.
Codenamed "Operation Absolute Resolve", the mission followed months of covert intelligence gathering by the CIA. It included surveillance inside Venezuela, people close to Maduro and monitoring of Maduro's movements including his ever changing whereabouts.
The operation culminated in a pre-dawn raid on Saturday in Caracas, carried out by elite US Army Delta Force commandos with extensive air, intelligence and cyber support.
CIA officers had secretly entered Venezuela in August to collect detailed intelligence on Maduro's daily routines, movements and security arrangements, a New York Times report quoted US officials as saying. The intelligence, combined with real-time aerial surveillance, enabled planners to pinpoint his location and prepare a targeted extraction.
General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said President Donald Trump authorised the mission at 10.46 pm (US time) on Friday, with final timing determined by military commanders based on weather, civilian risk and confirmation of Maduro's presence at a fortified compound.
In the early hours of Saturday, the operation began with a cyberattack that cut power across large parts of Caracas, followed by airstrikes that disabled Venezuelan radar and air-defence systems. More than 150 aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers, drones, electronic-warfare planes and helicopters, were involved, launching from multiple US bases and naval vessels in the Caribbean.
Despite air-defence suppression, US helicopters reportedly came under fire as they approached Maduro's compound around 2.01 am local time. Delta Force commandos breached the building and secured Maduro within minutes. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into custody and flown out of Venezuela aboard helicopters.
Maduro was then transferred to the USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean before being moved to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay and later flown to the United States. According to reports, Maduro faces long-standing narco-terrorism charges in US courts.
Venezuelan authorities, cited by the NYT report, said at least 40 people, including civilians and military personnel, were killed during the strikes. Several American soldiers also suffered injuries during the operation.
President Trump described the operation as a success of "speed, precision and power" and said US forces were prepared for further action if required.
