The capturing of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was like a real time spectacle for US President Donald Trump, who saw the entire high risk operation from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Trump, who was surrounded by national security officials and was watching multiple live feeds including social media updates, saw how the elite Delta Force soldiers got into Maduro’s house in Caracas during the early hours of January 3. The moment of truth came when Maduro was gunpointed as he attempted to escape towards a fortified safe room, thus ending a long running US pressure campaign to removal him from the very top of the power hierarchy with drama.
Inside Trump’s High-Risk ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’, The Start
The operation was a sign of the escalation of a long planning process, and it all happened while the US officials were publicly assuring that Washington was not seeking regime change. Trump had been privately apprehensive about the risks of escalation and protracted conflict, but he finally sanctioned the mission right before Christmas. Weather disruptions led to a delay in the operation until the conditions were just right, and at 10:46 PM ET, Trump gave the final green light after a typical evening of dining and shopping at his Florida club.
During the night, American military helicopters glided silently over the ocean to Caracas under the cover of darkness, backed by a large scale operation of about 150 aircraft, cyberwarfare, and targeted strikes that took out the Venezuelan defenses. The US military reported that the helicopters were fired upon after landing but that the mission proceeded without problems. Maduro along with his partner, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken out of Venezuela, first to the USS Iwo Jima, then to New York via Guantanamo Bay, where Maduro is likely to encounter the narco terrorism charges.
‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ and US Intelligence Agencies
US intelligence agencies had been really through their powers great invisibly involved. It’s said that the CIA had put its agents inside the borders of Venezuela earlier that year, which even included the government’s source, to observe and follow Maduro’s everyday life in extreme detail. The intelligence effort was particularly strong as a result of military forces’ deployment at the same time in the Caribbean that was visible to the public, while governmental officials were talking about fighting drugs and stopping migration as their main concern in the region.
New Acting President Of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez
Right after the operation, Trump declared that America would temporarily ‘run’ Venezuela, giving little detail and at the same time openly talking about the access to the huge oil reserves of the country. His statements represented a very big change from his continuous criticism of the US foreign interventions. The announcement raised alarm among politicians from both sides, with the Democrats claiming that the officials of the administration had misled Congress and that they were going to face legal, political, and security consequences were the warned about things to happen.
In the case of Venezuela, the immediate aftermath was filled with confusion, fear, and vacant streets in the capital city. Trump gave the operation’s speed and strength a high rating while the ruling of Venezuela still remains open. Delcy Rodriguez, the Vice President, referred to the act as an imperialist assault and at the same time Trump hinted at her being in partnership with US plans. Even though there was a long period of very careful planning, the end of the USA’s most pushy intervention in years is still very much vagues.
