The US military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, was the result of months of planning and execution that only American forces could carry out, according to General Dan Razin Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Speaking at a press conference in Florida on Saturday, General Caine described the mission — codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve — as a carefully coordinated and highly controlled operation. “This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise, and the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal, an operation that, frankly, only the United States military could undertake,” he said.
Caine said the order to proceed came late Friday night. “At 10:46 pm Eastern time last night, the president ordered the United States military to move forward with this mission,” he said, adding that the scale of the deployment was extensive.
“In total, more than 150 aircraft — bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and rotary-wing aircraft — were in the air last night,” Caine said. He confirmed that one aircraft sustained damage during the mission but was able to continue operating. “One of our aircraft was hit but remained flyable, and as the President said earlier today, all of our aircraft came home and that aircraft remained flyable during the rest of the mission,” he added.
According to Caine, Maduro and Flores, both of whom have been indicted in the United States, surrendered during the operation. “Maduro and his wife, both indicted, gave up and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice,” he said.
US President Donald Trump separately confirmed that the Venezuelan leader and his wife were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving US intelligence agencies, law enforcement and military forces.
Trump said the couple face charges of alleged “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies” in the Southern District of New York and will stand trial in the United States.
“No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday or frankly, in just a short period of time,” Trump said. “All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with US law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night.”
“It was dark, and it was deadly, but he was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice,” Trump added. “Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.”
Trump said the two would “soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil” for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking. He added that they were being transported to New York, with authorities to later decide whether the trial would be held there or in Florida.
