“Absolute Resolve”.. Details of the Maduro arrest operation

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he felt as if he was watching a television program as he watched live the events of the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces, the culmination of an operation for which he had carefully prepared for months.

Below is the full account of Operation Absolute Resolve, from the American spies in Caracas to the photo of the Venezuelan president in handcuffs:

“what he eats”

Since last August, US intelligence agents have been monitoring the most minute movements of Maduro, who, according to press reports, has been constantly changing his place of residence since the escalation of tensions with Washington.

US Army Chief of Staff Dan Cain explained that the intelligence services wanted to “understand how he moves, where he lives, where he travels, what he eats, what he wears, what pets he raises.”

Planning for the operation took months, and preparation for it required “meticulous” rehearsals. The American forces even created an identical model of the house in which Hugo Chavez’s successor lived.

The American forces became ready for implementation in early December, but they waited for conditions to become suitable, especially in terms of weather. Trump indicated that he issued the order for the mission four days ago, but he waited for the appropriate conditions to become available.

Trump gave the green light on Friday at 22:46 Washington time (Saturday 03:46 GMT). “He told us good luck and favorable winds,” General Cain added.

More than 150 American aircraft took off from land and sea bases, including fighters, reconnaissance planes, drones, and helicopters. The Chief of Staff explained that the helicopters carrying the unit entrusted with “extracting” the Venezuelan president flew under the cover of darkness, and intended to fly only tens of meters above the surface of the ocean.

The fighters provided air cover, while American satellites and cyber technologies disabled Venezuelan radars.

Explosions

The first explosions began shaking Caracas shortly before two in the morning (06:00 GMT), according to Agence France-Presse reporters. While the world was wondering whether this was the beginning of a large-scale bombing campaign, American aircraft were targeting Venezuelan air defenses to disable them and enable the helicopters to reach their target.

Trump said: “They knew we were coming,” given that tension had been escalating in recent months, “but they found themselves completely helpless, and they were neutralized very quickly,” according to the US President.

An American helicopter was hit during the operation, but it was able to return to its base. At 02:01 local time (06:01 GMT), the helicopters landed inside the complex where Maduro was present.

“fort”

The US President said that he followed the facts of the operation directly. Pictures published by the White House showed Trump sitting in an operations room created at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and General Keane.

“I watched (the operation) literally, as if I was watching a TV show,” Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News, likening the “Fortress,” the residence of his Venezuelan counterpart.

He added: “(The place) was equipped with steel doors, a so-called safe space surrounded by steel. He could not close that space. He was trying to enter it, but he was caught so quickly that he was unable to do so.”

He continued: “We were prepared and equipped with huge torches to penetrate the steel, but we did not need to use them.” He stressed that no Americans were killed, noting that Maduro “could have been killed” if he had tried to resist.

surrender

“Maduro and his wife, both defendants, surrendered without resistance and were placed in custody by the Ministry of Justice,” General Cain reported. The American judiciary is pursuing the couple on charges related to “drug-related terrorism” and exporting cocaine to the United States.

American helicopters flew over the Venezuelan coast at 03:29 (local time) and the couple were transferred to the warship “USS Iwo Jima.” Then Trump announced the operation on his “Truth Social” platform at 04:21 Washington time.

Then Trump posted the first photo of Nicolas Maduro, handcuffed, blindfolded and with noise-cancelling headphones on his ears.