Maduro's Mock House, Spies, 15000 Troops: How US Planned, Executed Ops Absolute Resolve To Capture Venezuelan Leader

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Planning for the United States' operation to capture President Nicolás Maduro following strikes on Venezuela was reportedly carried out over several months and included extensive rehearsals. At least seven explosions were reported during the attack, which lasted less than 30 minutes and appeared to target military infrastructure.

A senior Venezuelan official told The New York Times The that preliminary reports indicate at least 40 people, both military members and civilians, were killed in the US attack on Venezuela early Saturday.

How did US plan Operation Absolute Resolve?

Elite US forces, including the Army's Delta Force, reportedly built a full-scale mock-up of Maduro's safe house and rehearsed breaching the heavily secured compound. US spies tracked Maduro's every move for months.

Beginning in August, a small CIA team on the ground gathered detailed intelligence on Maduro's daily routines, which one source said made his capture straightforward, reported Reuters. Beginning in August, the CIA also deployed a covert team of officers inside Venezuela who collected intelligence on Maduro's“pattern of life” and movements, a person familiar with the effort said, a report by The New York Times noted.

Two sources informed Reuters that the agency also relied on an asset within Maduro's inner circle who tracked his movements and was prepared to identify his precise location as the operation progressed.

As per Reuter's source, a core group, including senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, worked on the matter for months, holding frequent meetings and calls, sometimes on a daily basis. They also regularly met with the president.

With preparations complete, Trump reportedly authorised the mission four days earlier, though military and intelligence officials advised delaying until weather conditions improved and cloud cover diminished. At 10:46 pm EST on Friday, Trump issued the final approval for the mission, called Operation Absolute Resolve, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine.

According to US officials, more than 150 aircraft, including bombers, fighter jets, and surveillance planes, were involved over the course of the night. The Pentagon directed a large-scale military buildup in the Caribbean, deploying an aircraft carrier, 11 warships, and more than a dozen F-35 fighter jets. Altogether, over 15,000 US troops have been sent to the region as part of what officials have consistently termed as counter-narcotics missions.

US-Venezuela conflict

The attack came after months of mounting pressure from the Trump administration, which has increased its naval presence off South America and, since early September, conducted deadly strikes on vessels suspected of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Just last week, the US carried out a CIA drone strike on Venezuelan soil at a docking area allegedly used by drug cartels. By Friday, the Trump administration stated that 35 strikes had occurred, resulting in at least 115 deaths.

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