Headline Roundup • January 5th, 2026
CIA, Air Superiority & the Element of Surprise: How the US Captured Maduro
The Americas,Venezuela,South America,Latin America,Nicolas Maduro,Donald Trump,Trump Administration,CIA,US Military
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Since the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, reporting has emerged on how exactly American forces executed "Operation Absolute Resolve."
The CIA: According to The New York Times (Lean Left bias), a team of CIA agents "slipped into Venezuela with a plan to collect information" on Maduro back in August. In October, The Times reported that President Trump had secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. The Times said the CIA moved around Caracas for months "undetected" and gathered information on Maduro's "daily movements" with the assistance of "a human source close to Mr. Maduro and a fleet of stealth drones flying secretly above."
The Strikes: The US reportedly waited several days for the right weather conditions to launch the operation. Over 150 aircraft, launched from 20 different locations, reportedly took part in the assault on Caracas that culminated in the ground deployment of Delta Force Commandos. According to The Times, agencies determined Maduro had not received a warning in advance of the operation. One aircraft was reportedly struck by Venezuelan defenses but remained flyable. An anonymous Venezuelan official reportedly told The Times that 40 people were killed in the assault.
The Capture: According to CBS News (Lean Left), the ground forces were heavily armed and equipped with a blowtorch in case they had to cut through an armored door. The US had reportedly built a replica of the safe house, which President Trump described as a "fortress," in Kentucky months prior, allowing US forces to rehearse the operation. Maduro was allegedly trying to hide in an armored safe room when commandos entered the room, but he was not able to close the door quickly enough.
How The Media Covered It: Several major sources reported on the operation, largely based on publicly made statements from US officials and President Trump. Reports were largely similar but often included different pieces of context or analysis. The New York Times described the mission as "highly dangerous" but "highly successful." Washington Times (Lean Right) noted that Trump and Maduro "spoke about a week before the mission, but Mr. Maduro refused to yield." BBC News (Center) paired its own reporting and analysis from Venezuela with reporting from its US partner CBS.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission.
Featured Coverage of this Story
In August, a clandestine team of C.I.A. officers slipped into Venezuela with a plan to collect information on Nicolás Maduro, the country's president, whom the Trump administration had labeled a narco-terrorist.
The C.I.A. team moved about Caracas, remaining undetected for months while it was in the country. The intelligence gathered about the Venezuelan leader's daily movements — combined with a human source close to Mr. Maduro and a fleet of stealth drones flying secretly above — enabled the agency to map out minute details about his routines.
For months, US spies had been monitoring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's every move.
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".
Then, in early December, a planned mission dubbed "Operation Absolute Resolve" was finalised. It was the result of months of meticulous planning and rehearsals, which even included elite US troops creating an exact full-size replica of Maduro's Caracas safe house to practise their entry routes.
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@realDonaldTrump on Truth Social
The daring U.S. mission to capture Nicolas Maduro took root months ago with the insertion into Caracas of a team of CIA operatives and culminated in the early morning hours of Saturday with a surgical strike on the Venezuelan capital that involved hundreds of aircraft, ships and elite U.S. soldiers who stormed the dictator's heavily guarded safe house to take him and his wife into custody.
More than 150 aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers and helicopters, played a role in inserting a team of Delta Force commandos into Mr. Maduro's...
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