Seven U.S. troops injured in Venezuela raid that captured Maduro, Pentagon says
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a helipad in Manhattan; They board an armored vehicle, escorted by heavily armed Federal agents, en route to the Federal courthouse in Manhattan in New York City on January 5, 2026.
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Seven US soldiers were injured in a US military operation that captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Venezuela on Saturday, a Pentagon official told MS Now on Wednesday.
While two of the seven people continue to recover, five of them survived their injuries during the operation called “Absolute Determination”.
“The fact that this extremely complex and demanding mission was successfully accomplished with so few injuries is a testament to the expertise of our partner warfighters,” the official said.
The assessment of casualties at the site is still ongoing and is being conducted by the U.S. intelligence community, the official said.
Venezuelan officials previously told MS Now that more than 70 people were killed in the raid.
Special operations forces from multiple branches of service and more than 150 military aircraft participated in Maduro’s capture.
US President Donald Trump said that the military operation was carried out in coordination with American law enforcement agencies. Sharing on Truth Social on Saturday.
Cuba said on Monday that 32 of its citizens were killed during the operation, adding that the men were carrying out missions for the Cuban armed forces and the interior ministry. The statement was released by Cuba’s presidential office. on Facebook.
The US strikes follow weeks of a military buildup in the region and Trump’s repeated threats against Maduro.
The deposed leader appeared in a New York court on Monday, where he said he and his wife had been “kidnapped” from his home in Caracas by US forces and described himself as a “prisoner of war”. He pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges.
— CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie and MS Now’s Julia Jester contributed to this report.
