Happy New Year!
And what a way to start the New Year! The United States
Happy New Year, Venezuela!
The raid unfolded over a few tightly choreographed hours the night of January 2–3, 2026, beginning with Trump’s order at 10:46 p.m. Eastern and ending with Maduro over open water by about 3:30 a.m. Eastern. It capped months of CIA groundwork and military rehearsals using a replica of Maduro’s compound in preparation for a short, violent assault window.
Before the helicopters launched
- In August 2025, CIA teams began covert “pattern of life” surveillance inside Venezuela to map Maduro’s routines, security, and safe locations.
- Through late 2025, U.S. special operators built and trained on a full‑scale mock‑up of Maduro’s safe house and practiced breaching drills and room clearing.
- By early December 2025, the plan for Operation Absolute Resolve was finalized but kept tightly compartmented, with Congress not formally briefed.
Strike order and air campaign
- At 10:46 p.m. Eastern on January 2, President Donald Trump gave the execute order for the operation.
- More than 150 U.S. aircraft and drones launched from roughly 20 bases and ships across the hemisphere, including fighters, bombers, electronic‑warfare planes, and tankers.
- As the helicopter force flew in low over the water toward Caracas, the air component systematically hit and disabled Venezuelan air defenses to open a corridor to the capital.
Assault on Maduro’s compound
- Around 2:01 a.m. Caracas time (1:01 a.m. Eastern), Delta Force and accompanying law‑enforcement officers fast‑roped into Maduro’s compound in downtown Caracas.
- The team breached outer defenses and heavy steel doors with explosives and tools, catching Maduro and Cilia Flores by surprise before they could fully reach a steel‑reinforced safe room.
- Within roughly 20–30 minutes, the assault force had secured the target areas, detained Maduro and Flores, and isolated the site while fighting off nearby Venezuelan security elements.
Extraction and departure from Venezuela
- After securing the detainees, helicopters were called back in under cover of fighters and armed drones providing overwatch and suppressive fire.
- One U.S. helicopter was hit and several U.S. personnel were injured, but the force was able to depart the city and head back toward offshore launch platforms.
- By about 3:29 a.m. Eastern, just over 2.5 hours after the compound assault began, the extraction force was “over the water” with Maduro and Flores aboard and en route to the USS Iwo Jima.
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/summarize-the-capture-of-venez-9zz2rGIFSLupGAwdIi0vEw?sm=d#1
Someone is in Trouble!
What happened militarily
Nicolás Maduro was captured in Caracas on January 3, 2026, during a rapid U.S. military operation and secretly flown to New York, where he is now in federal custody on drug and weapons charges. The raid also seized his wife, Cilia Flores, and has left Venezuela’s internal power structure in flux, with senior allies still controlling key levers of the state.
- The U.S. launched a large, pre‑planned strike in the early hours of January 3, code‑named Operation Absolute Resolve, involving extensive air attacks to suppress Venezuelan defenses around Caracas.
- A Delta Force and CIA team then assaulted Maduro’s fortified presidential compound, breached steel doors, and captured Maduro and Flores as they tried to reach a safe room.
- Within roughly 2–3 hours, the pair were extracted to a U.S. warship (reported as the USS Iwo Jima) and flown onward to U.S. territory.
Legal charges and U.S. case
- Maduro faces U.S. federal charges including narco‑terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
- The indictment builds on a 2020 U.S. case accusing Maduro and other Venezuelan officials of using state power to ship tons of cocaine to the United States via a criminal network tied to Colombian guerrillas.
- He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court, where he will be formally advised of the charges.
Political fallout in Venezuela
- With Maduro removed, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been described as assuming at least an interim leadership role, though her exact status and legitimacy are contested.
- Many of Maduro’s top military and political allies remain in place, prompting analysts to warn that the core of the regime apparatus has not yet collapsed.
- Some senior officials and generals are reportedly exploring deals with the U.S. for information or safe passage, suggesting possible internal fragmentation.
International and domestic reactions
- The Venezuelan government and its remaining leadership denounce the action as an illegal U.S. “kidnapping” and demand proof of life for Maduro and Flores.
- Protests and rallies in Venezuela and abroad have sharply criticized the U.S. strike, while the Trump administration and allies frame it as a justified move against a “narco‑dictator.”
- U.S. officials are maintaining a naval posture off Venezuela, including measures affecting Venezuelan oil shipments, as they assess the post‑Maduro political landscape.
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/summarize-the-capture-of-venez-9zz2rGIFSLupGAwdIi0vEw?sm=d#0
The Reaction
What’s Next?
- The United States will not be running the government of Venezuela.
- This was a legal arrest. There is no declaration of war. Congress doesn’t have to have a say on this.
- There is talk of the U.S. of breaking International Law. There is no such thing as International Law.
- Cuba, Columbia, and Mexico are getting REALLY nervous.
- Riots have become a big thing in Iran.
- 41 people have been killed during protests in Iran.
- A Revolutionary Guard headquarters has been attacked and set on fire.
- The Ayahtollah Kholemeni is rumored to be preparing to leave the country for Russia.