The United States military and law enforcement officials captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores, in a high-stakes military operation on January 3, a mission carried out by the US Army’s Delta Force and backed by extensive use of American airpower. After months of growing military pressure on Maduro, President Donald Trump ordered a brazen operation into the South American country to capture its leader and whisk him to the United States, where his administration planned to put him on trial. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who denounced the capture as a kidnapping, became acting president of Venezuela. US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro had been indicted in the US Southern District of New York on several charges related to narco-terrorism, superseding a 2020 indictment based on similar charges. Maduro, who appeared in a Manhattan federal court on 5 January 2026, pleaded “not guilty”.
More than 150 aircraft, including bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, and rotary-wing planes supported “Operation Absolute Resolve,” according to Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The operation occurred on a notable day in history that happened to be the 36th anniversary of the U.S. capture of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega during “Operation Just Cause”, in which US forces invaded Panama to topple its drug-running dictator.
Operation Southern Spear
Operation Southern Spear is a United States military and surveillance campaign with thegoal of “detecting, disrupting, and degrading transnational criminal and illicit maritime networks” under the Trump administration. Some analysts have identified the operation as a hybridization of the war on terror and the war on drugs, and others have claimed that removal of Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela was an objective of the operation.
A small team, including one source within the Venezuelan government, had been observing where the 63-year-old slept, what he ate, what he wore, and even, according to top military officials, “his pets” were. The plan, which amounted to an extraordinary US military intervention in Latin America not seen since the Cold War, was closely guarded. “Over the weeks through Christmas and New Year, the men and women of the United States military sat ready, patiently waiting for the right triggers to be met and the President to order us into action,” said Gen. Caine.
Amid concerns in the Trump administration about defending the US from drug trafficking, and heightened tensions between the US and Venezuela, the US began deploying military forces to the Caribbean Sea in mid-August 2025, and, in September, began conducting airstrikes on vessels the administration alleged were controlled by narco-terrorists trafficking drugs to the US. By late November, with the Venezuelan “Cartel of the Suns” designated by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organization, a new phase of operations began. In December, the Trump administration declared the Maduro government itself a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and began boarding and seizing sanctioned crude tankers. In late December, the US made its first strike on a land target within Venezuela. Then the January 03, 2026 formal assault.
Participating Air Assets in January Assault
According to Caine, Trump gave the order to proceed on 2 January at 23:46 VET (Venezuelan Standard Time, UTC –4). The administration did not notify the United States Congress in advance of the strikes, saying they had concerns that this could endanger the mission. At least seven explosions were reported at around 02:00 VET, and low-flying aircraft were seen, predominantly in La Guaira, Higuerote, Meseta de Mamo, Baruta, El Hatillo, Charallave, and Carmen de Uria, mostly inside or near Caracas.
The joint force involved 150 aircraft from the United States Navy (USN), Air Force (USAF), and Marine Corps (USMC). They included the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor, Lockheed Martin F-35A/C Lightning II, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, Grumman E-2D Hawkeye, Rockwell B-1B Lancer, Boeing CH-47F Chinook, Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion, Bell UH-1Y Venom, Bell AH-1Z Viper, Boeing AH-64E Apache, Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk, aerial refuelling tankers, electronic-warfare (EW) planes, various ISR aircraft, support aircraft, and numerous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel. Trump said the United States “had a fighter jet for every possible situation”.
Caine said US aircraft deployed from 20 different locations in the Western Hemisphere on land and at sea during the operation to capture Maduro. During the military buildup in Latin America, the US also used bases in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and other regional locations, including the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Iwo Jima, as well as bases in the continental USA.
The US forces deployed included 12 F-22s from Joint Base Langley-Eustis. USAF F-22s were seen at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, alongside Vermont Air National Guard F-35As, a unit specializing in Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD). USMC F-35Bs were also in action. The B-1 bombers appear to have originated from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Both F-22s and B-1s were seen flying south from home bases in recent days, indicating rehearsals. The secretive RQ-170 Sentinel, a stealth, flying-wing surveillance drone, was also spotted over Venezuela.
Helicopters from the US Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) descended on Maduro’s location. US Space Command, US Cyber Command, and intelligence agencies including the CIA, NSA, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) participated, Caine said.
Operations Modalities
Poor weather delayed the operation by days, but “last night, the weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could manoeuvre through the ocean, mountain, and low cloud ceilings,” Caine said. The night was well lit with a full moon.
“As the force began to approach Caracas, the Joint Air Component began dismantling and disabling the air defence systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area,” Caine told reporters in a joint press conference with President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the President’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Caine said the helicopter insertion force, which included law enforcement personnel, flew into Venezuela at an altitude of just 100 feet over the water, reaching Maduro’s compound at 1:31 AM VET. “The goal of our air component was, and always will be, to protect the helicopters and the ground force and get them to the target and get them home,” he added.
The strikes lasted half an hour. Smoke was seen rising from one military hangar in a Caracas base, while another was left without power. The strikes happened under cover of darkness due to both timing and US military disruption of power. Multiple shipping containers were destroyed in the La Guaira port strikes. Satellite imagery from Vantor showed at least five destroyed warehouses, burned vehicles, and a blown-up security post. An aircraft believed to be a Beechcraft Baron, and a Buk-M2E Surface-to-Air Missile System, were destroyed at Higuerote Airport. Maduro declared a national state of emergency after explosions began. The Venezuelan government promised to defend against US military actions, accusing it of seeking regime change. It labelled the attack “imperialist aggression” and called for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to convene.
Most explosions targeted antennas and active military bases. Early reports suggested that the explosions occurred at Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base (La Carlota) and Fort Tiuna, two major installations. Large explosions were also reported at Higuerote Airport. Helicopters from the 160th SOAR carried Delta Force soldiers into Caracas with air cover from fighters and bombers. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel, including the Hostage Rescue Team, accompanied the military to formally arrest Maduro at his compound.
The US force came under fire and returned fire. One US helicopter was struck but remained flyable. Some personnel were injured, Trump said. None were killed. Maduro was taken by helicopter aboard USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7). The capture was undertaken by Delta Force together with the CIA. By 4:29 AM VET (3:29 AM EST), Maduro and his wife were aboard the amphibious assault ship, and then taken to the US for trial. A photograph depicted Maduro blindfolded, wearing noise-cancelling headphones, a flotation device, a grey Nike Tech fleece suit, and holding a plastic water bottle.
Shortly before 18:00 VET (17:00 EST), the airplane carrying Maduro and Flores landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York. He was escorted into a hangar and later flown by helicopter to the Westside Heliport, Manhattan, and then by an armoured convoy to a DEA field office before being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Trump said the US operation involved great risk. “This is an attack that could have gone very, very badly… We could have lost a lot of people… a lot of equipment.” But he said a “second wave” of US forces was standing by. “We were ready to go again if we have to.”
Important Role of Air Power
The entire operation was airpower-centric, the single most important element. The airstrikes on military targets created space for Special Forces to conduct their capture operation and also to signal to the Venezuelan military not to engage. “It was very complex… the landings, the number of aircraft,” Trump told Fox News. “We had a fighter jet for every possible situation.” Videos soon appeared showing numerous aircraft overhead.
Every element of airpower was used. It included SEAD, decoys and deception, strategic and tactical airstrikes, electronic warfare, airborne insertion, special operations, helicopter operations, UAS (drones), coordinated fires, joint force application, and carrier-based naval aviation. Aerial tankers and AEW&C were active. Flexibility, speed, range, accuracy, and lethality were all on display.
To Summarise
The United States military entered Venezuela, capturing and extra-judicially abducting President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. The capture created a power vacuum which Trump said US would fill after a “proper transition”.
Venezuela has 303.3 billion barrels of proven oil reserves — the highest in the world. Output will likely rise, reducing and stabilising prices, potentially benefiting India and global markets. Amid divided global opinion, the Modi government is playing safe. The cautious MEA statement aligns with India’s recent positions on Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran. With India-US trade deal negotiations at a crucial stage, Delhi will avoid strong protests.
Reactions worldwide included protests and celebrations by the Venezuelan diaspora. On Venezuela, realism demands holding two truths: power shapes outcomes, and deterrence is real. That is what the US action demonstrates.
The Trump administration justified the operation as a law-enforcement action with military support that the President has “inherent constitutional authority” to undertake. But international law experts, officials in the US, the UN, and other nations questioned its legality. Trump stated the US would run Venezuela until transition, but this was contradicted by Rodríguez and later walked back by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Maduro government remained in place.
What kind of signal does it send the world? Does it mean Trump is telling Russia’s Putin to continue gaining ground in Ukraine as an area of influence? Is it also a signal to China to be bolder against Taiwan?
After the war in Ukraine, Op Sindoor, and conflicts in West Asia, clearly airpower continues to dominate modern operations. Major armed forces spend more than half their defence budgets on airpower. The major equipment orders by India after Op Sindoor are related to aerial platforms and munitions. It has become increasingly important to invest more and build greater airpower capability.
Note: The article was originally written by the Author for The First Post on, January 9th, 2026, it has since been updated.
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