U.S. Special Forces and CIA Seized Maduro in Operation Absolute Resolve

U.S. special operations forces, backed by Central Intelligence Agency personnel, executed Operation Absolute Resolve in the early hours of January 4, 2026, culminating in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The operation combined months of clandestine preparation, a tactical air campaign to degrade Venezuelan air defenses and an on-the-ground forced entry that followed repeated rehearsals on a full-scale mock-up of Maduro’s fortified residence.

Accounts of the operation describe a prolonged planning cycle in which elite troops practiced forced-entry scenarios on a replica of the target compound so they could rehearse the complex approach needed to penetrate the safe house. Units identified in reporting include US special operations elements and explicit mention of Army Delta Force operators operating in coordination with CIA teams. U.S. personnel reportedly had a small intelligence contingent in Venezuela by August 2025, and cultivated an inside source as part of the lead-up to the mission.

In the immediate pre-dawn period, low-flying aircraft struck sites around Caracas, targeting air defenses and military positions to clear a path for the special forces insertion. Visual material circulated after the operation showed a destroyed anti-aircraft unit at the La Carlota military airbase, consistent with the pre-dawn strikes. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social in the early hours following the mission to say the United States had carried out an operation to seize Maduro and his wife; beyond that public post, official U.S. statements on planning and execution have been limited.

The operation marks an unprecedented kinetic intervention in Latin America by U.S. forces aimed at the removal of a sitting head of state. International legal scholars and diplomats are likely to view the mission as raising acute questions under the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force and norms protecting sovereignty and nonintervention. The lack of on-the-record clarifications about authorizations, chain-of-command decisions or legal rationale will amplify scrutiny from governments across the region and at international bodies.

Beyond legal debates, the seizure will test regional diplomatic alignments and could catalyze instability in Venezuela and neighboring countries. Maduro’s political base, Venezuela’s security apparatus and allied states may respond with measures that risk escalation. Caracas’s loyalist institutions retain capacity to contest authority on the ground, and the sudden removal of the presidency creates an immediate governance void with humanitarian and migration implications.

For Washington, the operation demonstrates a willingness to employ covert intelligence work and high-end military capabilities together to pursue leadership change. That posture may deter some adversaries but also undercuts long-standing norms and could complicate alliances, trade and energy markets that are tightly interwoven with Venezuelan oil and regional supply chains.

Key operational facts, Operation Absolute Resolve, the use of a mock residence for rehearsals, the involvement of Delta Force and CIA teams, pre-dawn strikes that disabled Venezuelan air defenses, and the capture of Maduro and his wife, are now central to the unfolding diplomatic and legal fallout. As governments and international institutions assess their responses, the contours of accountability, precedent and regional security will shape the months ahead.