Inside the operation: How the US moved to capture Nicolás Maduro

By Kevin Liptak, Isabelle Khurshudyan, Zachary Cohen, Alayna Treene and Kristen Holmes, CNN

Photo: President Donald Trump/Truth Social via CNN Newsource

It was just like watching television.

Huddled in a draped-off room at Mar-a-Lago around screens set up for his viewing pleasure - including, according to photos released by the White House, a live feed of social media messages on X - President Donald Trump watched and listened as highly trained American Delta Force soldiers rushed into Nicolás Maduro's home in Caracas, where the Venezuelan leader was sleeping alongside his wife.

Maduro was quickly dragged into custody as he tried to flee to his steel-enforced safe room.

It was the dramatic culmination of a months-long campaign whose ultimate goal has long been clear to those involved in its planning: to oust Maduro from power. Trump, who at points along the way voiced misgivings about the potential for unintended consequences and the chances the US could be drawn into a prolonged war, put aside any reservations and gave a green light to the operation in the days before Christmas.

It wasn't until more than a week later that the weather cleared and conditions were right for the heavily-guarded mission. At 10.46pm ET, after making a shopping excursion for marble and onyx and enjoying dinner on the Mar-a-Lago patio, the president gave the final go-ahead.

"Good luck," Trump told the assemblage of national security officials who had convened at his gilded private club in South Florida, "and Godspeed".

American helicopters were soon gliding across the sea, 100 feet above the dark water, toward Caracas. A couple of hours later, Maduro was in US custody, handcuffed, dressed in gray sweatpants and wearing blackout goggles, according to a pictur