Revealed: The key players at Trump’s side in tense Maduro ‘situation room’… and what it says about his changing inner circle

As commandos flew into Venezuela and extracted Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump sat in the middle of the Mar-A-Lago situation room, flanked by senior military and government officials, his steely gaze focused on the task at hand.

However, the absence of important names in the dramatic black-and-white photo set published by the White House revealed the names most involved in the successful operation.

Since the president was at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, a group of senior officials gathered at the temporary sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at the president’s Palm Beach club to watch the US military carry out ‘Operation Absolute Determination’.

To the president’s right was CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and to his left was Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Farther to the left was Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, one of the president’s closest advisers on Venezuela.

Meanwhile, there was no sign of Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who had previously expressed strong opposition to military intervention in Venezuela during the president’s first term. It is not known why he was not there and the Daily Mail has approached its spokesman for comment.

Trump’s private secretary, Susie Wiles, was also not in the room and there was no explanation as to why. His absence came after he said in November that military action against Venezuela would need congressional approval; This was something the Trump administration had not taken before the ‘massive attack’ on the country.

Vice President J.D. Vance was also not seen at Trump’s Florida resort on Friday night, instead monitoring the operation from elsewhere.

Scenes during the daring mission were reminiscent of earlier high-stakes national security moments, such as the famous photo of President Barack Obama and his advisers monitoring the military offensive to eliminate terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

Obama’s 2011 situation room photo showed then-Vice President Joe Biden sitting next to the Democratic president; He was flanked by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior government and military officials.

President’s advisors monitor details of successful military mission at Mar-a-Lago

Photos taken from President Donald Trump’s makeshift ‘situation room’ at Mar-a-Lago were compared to this footage from the actual White House Situation Room showing members of the Obama administration monitoring the 2011 Osama bin Laden raid

US President Donald Trump (C) watches ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ with CIA Director John Ratcliffe (L) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R)

Also in Trump’s situation room were Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, America’s highest-ranking military officer.

Photos released by the White House show the president’s military advisers showing him details of the raid and monitoring his laptops.

Hegseth wore a quarter-zip fleece under his suit, while Caine wore civilian clothes instead of his military uniform.

Deeply involved in Friday night’s operation, Rubio spent much of the Christmas holiday with the president to advise him on a range of foreign policy issues.

Rubio, the president’s national security adviser, received rave reviews from Trump shortly before Christmas for a lengthy news conference laying out the administration’s foreign policy priorities.

The president had made final preparations days ago to launch the mission, but his military leaders were waiting for suitable conditions for the attack.

Lena Shyrokova, who was at Mar-a-Lago after attending the president’s New Year’s Eve party, told the Daily Mail she wasn’t taking more security precautions than usual.

‘It was a very festive evening and everyone was in a great mood,’ he said. ‘Everyone was so friendly and nice to each other… there was lots of dancing and fun.’

But after the party was over and most of the guests had left Mar-a-Lago, Trump gave the final order for the launch at 10:46 PM ET on Friday.

The weekend raid had been long anticipated by officials in the president’s cabinet, but many were not personally present when the commander in chief launched the operation.

The late-night raid began on the last weekend of the holiday season, as some of the president’s closest staffers were still away on previously scheduled holidays.

Vice President J.D. Vance traveled from Cincinnati to the president’s golf club in Palm Beach on Friday morning and spoke briefly with the president about the upcoming strikes, a spokesman for the vice president told the Daily Mail.

In a photo provided by the White House Press Office, US President Donald Trump is seen monitoring ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (left) and CIA Director John Ratcliffe (center).

In the statement presented by the White House Press Office, US President Donald Trump (right) is seen watching ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ with CIA Director John Ratcliffe (left).

The vice president remained off-site and did not travel to Mar-a-Lago for the operation because news of his motorcade arriving at the club could have tipped off Venezuelans who were watching the president closely for any moves.

Vance monitored the operation via a secure video conference at an undisclosed location away from Mar-a-Lago before returning to Cincinnati.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and White House communications director Stephen Cheung spoke with the president before and after the raid and coordinated the president’s press response remotely, according to a White House official.

Attorney General Pam Bondi monitored the raid from CENTCOM in Tampa, Florida, a senior administration official said.

On Saturday, he announced on social media that both Maduro and his wife, Cilia, had been charged in the Southern District of New York.

A White House official confirmed that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles was not at Mar-a-lago but did not specify where.

“Susie was also read throughout and played an important role,” the official told the Daily Mail.

The White House emphasized that everyone on the president’s team was involved in the successful mission, even if they were not with the president at Mar-a-Lago.

“Everyone named in this story played a key role in the incredible and historic success of the operation,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told the Daily Mail.

On Saturday, the president was joined by Miller, Ratcliffe, Rubio, Hegseth and Caine at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, where he provided more details about the operation.

Caine, who was wearing his military uniform at the time, explained the mission’s timeline, earning the president high praise.

US President Donald Trump sits next to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he monitors the US military operation in Venezuela

General Dan Cain explains mission operations to President Trump at Mar-a-Lago

In the photo shared by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account, Trump is seen in the same room with his closest military advisors during his mission in Venezuela.

“This guy is great,” Trump said of Cain, praising him for the “most sensitive” mission.

FBI Director Kash Patel, Senator Bernie Moreno and the president’s friend Steve Witkoff were seen at the press conference but did not join the president on stage for details of the successful mission.

The president called Rubio multiple times during the press conference, asking him to detail what the United States was preparing for other countries in the region, such as Venezuela and Cuba.

Trump had nothing but praise for his team for helping carry out the mission successfully, but as the press conference continued, it was clear the job wasn’t over.

The president confirmed that his team will ‘manage’ Venezuela until it ‘gets back on track’.

‘Well, largely the people who stood behind me for a while will be,’ he told the press. ‘We will make this work. We’ll bring him back.’