On Saturday, General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, revealed at Mar-a-Lago that the US military deployed over 150 aircraft and launched the operation to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from 20 different bases across the Western Hemisphere.
General Caine detailed the technical aspects of the operation codenamed “Operation Absolute Resolve” during a press conference.
“On Friday night, over 150 aircraft took off from 20 different bases across land and sea in the Western Hemisphere. This included helicopters carrying evacuation teams flying at a height of only 100 feet above the water surface on their way to Venezuela,” he pointed out.
Caine described it as a meticulously planned operation with preparations lasting months aimed at ensuring absolute control over the target.
“The operation to capture Maduro was a wide-ranging, meticulously planned mission that we prepared for months, with ground execution taking several hours,” he said. “This involved all military branches and intelligence agencies collaborating, requiring months of preparation.”
This involved tracking Maduro to understand his movements, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, and what he wore.
According to General Caine, the helicopter unit arrived at Maduro’s residence around 1 a.m. amidst regional strikes for cover.
“During the process of apprehending Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the troops engaged in multiple instances of ‘self-defense fire’ due to coming under enemy fire. Subsequently, the forces flew out of Venezuela around 3:29 a.m.”
The Maduro couple was later transferred to the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship, currently heading to New York for trial.
General Caine emphasized the precision of this operation, stating, “This well-oiled machine, should one component fail, would jeopardize the entire mission, and for the United States Joint Forces, failure is never an option.”