During the darkest hours of 2 and 3 January, the U.S. conducted operation “Absolute Resolve,” a discreet, precise mission to apprehend Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
The special operations extraction force, escorted by a U.S. Navy, Marine, and Air Force protection package, arrived in downtown Caracas while maintaining the element of tactical surprise, successfully took Maduro into custody, and exfiltrated safely.
A comprehensive review of everything we know to date:
w/ @SA_Defensa, @LatAmMilMVMTs, @__CJohnston__
The special operations extraction force, escorted by a U.S. Navy, Marine, and Air Force protection package, arrived in downtown Caracas while maintaining the element of tactical surprise, successfully took Maduro into custody, and exfiltrated safely.
A comprehensive review of everything we know to date:
w/ @SA_Defensa, @LatAmMilMVMTs, @__CJohnston__
At 22:46 EST on 2 January 2026, after "patiently waiting for the right triggers to be met... the weather broke just enough" and POTUS ordered the U.S. military to move forward with operation “Absolute Resolve.”
https://twitter.com/ianellisjones/status/2007402256375967776
“Over the course of the night, aircraft began launching from 20 different bases, on land and sea, across the Western Hemisphere. In total, more than 150 aircraft, bombers, fighters, intel, recon, and rotary wing aircraft were in the air.”
The 150+ aircraft worked in “close coordination, all coming together... to layer effects for a single purpose: to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas while maintaining the element of tactical surprise.”
As the operation began, the helicopters with the extraction force, which included law enforcement officers, took off and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the water. “As they approached Venezuelan shores, the U.S. began layering different effects provided by SPACECOM, CYBERCOM, and other members of the interagency to create a pathway.”
Overhead, the extraction forces were protected by aircraft from the U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and the Air National Guard. The protection package included F-22s, F-35As, F-35Bs, F/A-18E/Fs, EA-18Gs, E-2Ds, B-1B bombers, and other support aircraft, as well as numerous remotely piloted drones.
As the package approached Caracas, the joint air component “began dismantling and disabling the air defense systems, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area.”
Delta Force arrived at Maduro’s compound at 01:01 AM EST (02:01 AM local time) on 3 January and descended into the compound. “While apprehending the indicted persons on arrival into the target area, the helicopters came under fire and they replied with overwhelming force in self-defense.”
Maduro and his wife surrendered and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice, assisted by the U.S. military, with no loss of U.S. life. After securing Maduro, the force began to prepare for departure “Helicopters were called in to exfiltrate the extraction force while fighter aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire. There were multiple self-defense engagements. As the force began to withdraw out of Venezuela, the force successfully exfiltrated and returned to their afloat launch bases, and the force was over the water.”
By 03:29 AM EST, the 160 SOAR MH-47G Chinook transporting the VIP touched down on amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) in the Caribbean Sea. LHD 7, with its air combat element (ACE) practicing agile combat employment (ACE) in Puerto Rico, has served as a mobile hub for special operations forces in USSOUTHCOM.
One helo was hit during the engagement, but remained operational, and all aircraft made it home safely. Source: Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The 150+ aircraft worked in “close coordination, all coming together... to layer effects for a single purpose: to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas while maintaining the element of tactical surprise.”
As the operation began, the helicopters with the extraction force, which included law enforcement officers, took off and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the water. “As they approached Venezuelan shores, the U.S. began layering different effects provided by SPACECOM, CYBERCOM, and other members of the interagency to create a pathway.”
Overhead, the extraction forces were protected by aircraft from the U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and the Air National Guard. The protection package included F-22s, F-35As, F-35Bs, F/A-18E/Fs, EA-18Gs, E-2Ds, B-1B bombers, and other support aircraft, as well as numerous remotely piloted drones.
As the package approached Caracas, the joint air component “began dismantling and disabling the air defense systems, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area.”
Delta Force arrived at Maduro’s compound at 01:01 AM EST (02:01 AM local time) on 3 January and descended into the compound. “While apprehending the indicted persons on arrival into the target area, the helicopters came under fire and they replied with overwhelming force in self-defense.”
Maduro and his wife surrendered and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice, assisted by the U.S. military, with no loss of U.S. life. After securing Maduro, the force began to prepare for departure “Helicopters were called in to exfiltrate the extraction force while fighter aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire. There were multiple self-defense engagements. As the force began to withdraw out of Venezuela, the force successfully exfiltrated and returned to their afloat launch bases, and the force was over the water.”
By 03:29 AM EST, the 160 SOAR MH-47G Chinook transporting the VIP touched down on amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) in the Caribbean Sea. LHD 7, with its air combat element (ACE) practicing agile combat employment (ACE) in Puerto Rico, has served as a mobile hub for special operations forces in USSOUTHCOM.
One helo was hit during the engagement, but remained operational, and all aircraft made it home safely. Source: Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Per Gen. Caine, 160th SOAR helos “came under fire and they replied with overwhelming force in self-defense.”
https://twitter.com/latammilmvmts/status/2007396836122997191
“The U.S. forces deployed for the operation included 12 F-22s from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. Publicly available imagery shows Air Force F-22s are on site at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, alongside Vermont Air National Guard F-35As, U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs, and other U.S. military aircraft. During the Trump administration’s buildup of military might in Latin America, the U.S. has also been using air bases elsewhere in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and other locations in the region, including the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and the USS Iwo Jima, as well as bases in the continental U.S.
The B-1 bombers appear to have originated from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, according to open-source analysts. Both F-22s and B-1s have flown south from their home bases in the U.S. in recent days, civilian flight trackers have observed. Those operations could have been a rehearsal mission, decoys, or even the start of operations that were later called off.” @ByChrisGordon
The B-1 bombers appear to have originated from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, according to open-source analysts. Both F-22s and B-1s have flown south from their home bases in the U.S. in recent days, civilian flight trackers have observed. Those operations could have been a rehearsal mission, decoys, or even the start of operations that were later called off.” @ByChrisGordon
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