President Trump’s Operation Absolute Resolve captures Maduro Venezuela

President Donald Trump has taken a bold step in his campaign to pull Venezuela back from the brink and keep China out of the Western Hemisphere.

Operation Absolute Resolve was a stunning tactical success by US military forces. Now comes the hard part of reshaping Venezuela without creating a quagmire.

The capture of illegitimate President Nicolás Maduro was another masterpiece orchestrated by Chief of Staff General Dan “Razin” Caine. Like Operation Midnight Hammer’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, this operation involved more than 150 aircraft and was built on America’s complete air dominance. Caine credited his “years of experience hunting terrorists.”

Intelligence agencies have mapped every moment of Maduro’s routine, right down to his pets.

WHAT IS DELTA FORCE AND WHAT DOES IT DO? INSIDE THE ELITE US ARMY UNIT THAT CAPTURED MADURO

“We watched, we waited, we prepared,” Caine said Saturday. US ships and aircraft were kept ready for trigger alert for days. Then the weather broke and the coastal fog lifted long enough for “the world’s most skilled airmen” to fly in and pick off Maduro, creating a corridor of layered effects of joint forces.

US forces encountered complete surprise. Venezuela’s Russian-supplied air defenses collapsed as the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Cyber ​​Command ignored and blinded Venezuela’s military coordination to, in Caine’s words, “create a path” for the helicopters. Special Forces helicopters sent forces to the Maduro compound. US forces captured Maduro on foot just before the dictator fled.

“He tried to get to his safe place, but he couldn’t close the door,” Trump said.

This was no child’s play. The landing force was in enemy airspace at 1:01 Eastern time. It was 3:29 a.m. when the landing force helicopters carrying Maduro fought their way out after multiple self-defense skirmishes. It’s a very tense time on this field.

Fortunately, they had full tactical air cover. In addition to the US Air Force’s F-22s, F-35s and B-1 bombers, the team also included the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford’s F/A-18EF Super Hornets, EA-18G electronic attack aircraft and E-2D Hawkeye radar planes. So are what Caine describes as “numerous drones” and no doubt various “black” Special Forces aircraft.

AFTER THE US OPERATION AND THE CAPTURE OF THE VENEZUELAN DICTATOR, IRAN AND MADURO TIES SUFFERED A MAJOR BLOW

Trump monitored every moment of the raid through these drones and other displays of friendly power.

Consider the shock of the Chinese delegation in Caracas. Xi Jinping had just sent diplomats to check on China’s $67 billion investment in Venezuela. Very late. They were guests of honor at Maduro’s final cocktail party at the Miraflores Presidential Palace, hours before the airstrikes began. They then saw another jaw-dropping display of U.S. military precision, with tactics that could be applied “against any enemy anywhere in the world,” Caine said.

The capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Saturday draws sharp comparisons with the 1989 arrest of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. (Bill Gentile/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images and Pedro Rances Mattey/Anatolia via Getty Images)

For all the military success, Trump’s Operation Absolute Resolve will ultimately be judged by how Venezuela plays out. Americans remember Colin Powell’s words: “If you break it, you own it.” This advice, also called the Pottery Barn rule, was given to President George W. Bush by the secretary of state before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Not followed.

The difference with Trump is already obvious. Trump believes that a successful partnership with the United States “can make the Venezuelan people wealthy, independent and secure.”

Yes, Trump was angry at Venezuela for the “humanitarian devastation” caused by drugs and criminal gangs.

“They sent everyone to the United States in a bad way,” Trump said on Saturday.

“They took all of our oil a long time ago. We want it back,” Trump said on December 17.

But Trump’s policy motivations are also prescient. His team appears to have been planning Venezuela’s next era for a long time. It gave Maduro a chance to surrender. Stupid Maduro turned down “numerous generous offers” and decided to “act like a wild man,” Rubio said Saturday.

MADURO MEETS WITH THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR HOURS BEFORE HE WAS CAPTURED IN CARACAS AS OPERATION BEIJING SLAMS

Rubio has already spoken at length with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. “He was kind,” Trump said, but “he had no choice.” According to Trump, Rodriguez may cooperate, perhaps bringing Maduro’s former supporters with him, or a second attack may be ready.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) watches President Donald Trump meet with Argentinian President Javier Milei (not pictured) in the White House Cabinet Room in Washington, D.C., October 14, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

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Later, Trump plans to entrust Venezuela to those who know it well, namely the oilmen. Venezuela has more oil than Saudi Arabia and any other country in the world, with reserves of 303 billion barrels. However, exports are insufficient. Some of the oil is difficult to extract, and the oil production infrastructure has decayed under socialism and Maduro. Considering the long-term advantage of US partnership and investment, the strategic logic of Operation Absolute Resolve falls into place.

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Make no mistake: Trump’s move on Venezuela goes far beyond increasing oil production. Venezuela is a crucial strategic chess piece in what will become a decades-long multipolar rivalry with China. In this global struggle, a free, prosperous Venezuela is a valuable asset. Or it will be if Trump’s team can create the “smooth, reasonable transition” he described at the Mar-a-Lago briefing.

Trump wants Venezuela to side with America.

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