The operation that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro was the result of months of meticulous preparation and an unprecedented military deployment in Latin America.
According to international media reports, U.S. special forces built an exact replica of the Venezuelan leader's residence in Caracas to rehearse each phase of the assault.
Sources from the Pentagon and the CIA confirmed that the operation was well-informed about the dictator's personal habits: from where he slept and what he ate to the rituals he performed with his pets.
An infiltrated spy within the environment of the Miraflores Palace is said to have provided the information that allowed for an accurate recreation of the complex, including its passageways, reinforced doors, and security cameras.
In that full-scale mock-up, set up at an unidentified U.S. military base, elite teams practiced for weeks on entry routes, firing points, and air extraction pathways.
Each room was recreated from plans and satellite images, including the steel security spaces where Maduro and his wife attempted to take refuge during the early hours of the incursion.
The president Donald Trump gave the final order at 10:46 PM on Friday, January 3, after delaying the attack on New Year's Eve due to weather conditions. The mission involved 150 aircraft, special operations units, and 20 logistical support bases, according to General Dan Caine, a former senior official of the CIA.
The helicopters descended over the residential complex following a power outage in Caracas. Minutes later, Maduro and Cilia Flores were captured in the security room that had been simulated dozens of times during training.
The operation—broadcast live from Mar-a-Lago—lasted less than five hours and, while Washington deemed it a "tactical success," Caracas denounces it as an international crime of aggression that left dozens dead among the presidential security team.
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