A brutal firefight with ‘a lot of gunfire’, a spy on the inside and a fleet of stealth drones: The amazing story of how Trump’s commandos snatched Venezuela’s Maduro

It was revealed Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raced to close the 6-inch-thick steel door of a secure room seconds before he and his wife Cilia were kidnapped by U.S. Special Forces.

Full details of one of the most daring military raids in modern history were revealed by Donald Trump and his closest advisers, who watched on screens as the daring two-hour and 28-minute operation took place in a secure room at the US President’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

After weeks of meticulous planning and waiting for the weather to be ‘perfect’, Mr Trump signed off on Operation Absolute Determination at 10.46pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday night (23.46 in Venezuela, 3.46am on Saturday in the UK) with the words: ‘Good luck and God help you.’

Mr Trump said Maduro was heavily guarded ‘like a fortress’ in a bunker at a military base in the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

‘There was something they called a safe area, covered on all sides with solid steel. He didn’t close that area. He was trying to get in, but he got dizzy so quickly that he couldn’t get in.

‘It was a very thick door, a very heavy door. But he couldn’t reach the door. ‘He reached the door but couldn’t close it.’ Soldiers from Delta Force, the U.S. Army’s elite special operations unit, were equipped with flashlights to cut through the steel door in case Mr. Maduro managed to lock himself inside.

Mr Trump said: ‘Our men couldn’t close the door because they were too fast.

‘Did we surprise him? It was a bit of a surprise, but they were expecting something. There was a lot of opposition. ‘There was a lot of gunfire.’

When the raid began, Caracas was plunged into darkness. The US President stated that the landing force had been working for months and added: ‘They actually built the same house they entered, with steel everywhere. They were ready for anything. ‘Then we turned off all the lights.’

Mr. Trump has refused to say whether CIA spies in the field, who have been tracking Maduro’s movements for months, have taken over the power grid or launched a cyberattack.

He said: ‘The lights of Caracas were largely turned off because of the particular expertise we had.’ US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine praised the joint efforts of the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Special Forces and intelligence agencies, who ‘spent months’ on the operation, including examining Maduro’s movements, what he wore, what he ate, his children and even his pets.

He said: ‘This mission was meticulously planned. This was a daring operation that only the United States could undertake; It was such a delicate landing that more than 150 aircraft had to be launched in close coordination across the western hemisphere; all coming together in time and place to create a layered effect for one purpose; ‘Providing Caracas city center with an interdicting power while maintaining the element of surprise.’

The planes, which include F-18, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, Seahawk and Chinook helicopters, B-1 supersonic bombers and unmanned drones, were launched from a fleet of more than a dozen U.S. warships and the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, which has been off the coast of Venezuela since December. The aircraft were also deployed from US bases around the Caribbean.

The helicopters carrying the Special Forces were from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, nicknamed the Night Stalkers, and included MH-60 Seahawks and MH-47 Chinooks. Delta Force helicopters flew just 30 meters above sea level as they approached Caracas; It was supported by fighter jets and bombers and bombed five military sites around the city to distract Venezuelan troops on the ground.

US forces reached the Venezuelan leader’s compound at 1:01 a.m. EST yesterday and returned across the sea to USS Iwo Jima at 3:29 a.m.; but a Pentagon source said the ground conflict and Maduro’s capture lasted less than 30 minutes.

About a dozen Special Forces soldiers quickly deployed from helicopters down the ropes and entered Maduro’s heavily guarded compound via ‘fast ropes’ before being confronted by heavy gunfire.

President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3

Nicolas Maduro (pictured) raced to close his safe room seconds before he and his wife Cilia were kidnapped by US Special Forces

What one CIA source described as a “brutal” firefight took place before special forces entered the Fort Tiuna area, where Mr Maduro and his wife, thought to be wearing only her pajamas, attempted to enter their safe haven.

They were sleeping in another room but were woken up by gunshots. When US soldiers reached the couple, they were “taken out within seconds”, Trump said, adding that the two US soldiers had “non-threatening gunshot wounds”.

One helicopter was hit by ground fire, but the USS managed to return safely to Iwo Jima. General Caine said: ‘On arrival at the target area the helicopters came under fire and they returned fire with great force and self-defence. One of our planes was shot down but continued flying.

‘The force descended on Maduro’s compound and moved quickly, precisely and with discipline, isolating the area to ensure the safety and security of ground forces while capturing the suspects.’

Maduro and his wife were put on a helicopter that landed on the grounds of the compound.

They were then taken to the USS Iwo Jima and arrested by FBI agents from the Southern District of New York. Agents on Saturday filed an indictment against Maduro and his wife, citing narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking and possession of a machine gun.

The indictment was an updated version of one issued by a U.S. grand jury in 2020.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said about Maduro: ‘He stirred things up and learned.’

A series of explosions on Saturday plunged Caracas into darkness on January 3

A photo provided by the White House Press Office shows the Venezuelan President blindfolded aboard the USS Iwo Jima

Mr Trump said it was ‘awesome’ to watch the raid in real time, adding: ‘I watched it like I was actually watching a television programme.

‘If you saw the speed and the violence, it was amazing.’

A CIA source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It went off flawlessly.

‘We had agents in the field collecting information since last summer; We had a fleet of secret drones that had been tracking Maduro and his cronies for months. ‘We always knew where he was, when he ate and when he shitted.’

Maduro and his wife flew to New York on Saturday night, where they will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Venezuela has not yet reported whether any soldiers or civilians died in the raid, but a woman is said to have died.

Mr Trump warned that the US was ready to launch a second wave of attacks on Venezuela, but added: ‘We were actually assuming that a second wave would be necessary, but now it probably isn’t.’