The most senior member of the United States military has offered a grippingly detailed account of how Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured.
General John Daniel ‘Raizin’ Cane, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said 150 US military aircraft stationed across the western hemisphere had waited for weeks for the perfect moment to strike, before it finally arrived on Friday.
Addressing journalists at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, Cane said preparations to capture Maduro and his wife Cilia began in August 2025 when CIA spies began monitoring the Maduros movements.
Cane said: ‘We watched, we waited, we prepared, we remained patient and professional…
‘After months of work by our intelligence teammates to find Maduro and understand how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets.
‘In early December our force was set pending a series of aligned events. Key was choosing the right day to minimize the potential for civilian harm and maximize the element of surprise and minimize the harm to the indicted person so, as the president says, they could be brought to justice.’
The optimum moment finally arrived late Friday night, Cane explained, with Trump ordering the mission at 10:46pm ET.
‘He said to us “Good luck and God Speed,’ Cane recalled. ‘Those words were transmitted to the entire joint force.’
General John Daniel ‘Raizin’ Cane detailed the enormous operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to a press conference Saturday, as President Donald Trump looked on
Military aircraft parked at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico on Saturday. More than 150 planes including fighters, bombers and drones were deployed to guarantee the success of the Maduro mission
Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia are seen in January 2024. The pair will now be brought to New York City to face federal charges
Cane then detailed how the 150 aircraft – comprising bombers, fighters, surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance planes, as well as helicopters and drones, took to the skies from 20 different bases across the West.
He said the helicopters carrying the US Army Delta Force unit tasked with personally ‘extracting’ Maduro and his wife flew just 100 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. This was to ensure that their arrival into the coastal city of Caracas would be a surprise.
Cane said: ‘As they approached Venezuelan shores the United States began layering different effects provided by space comms, cyber comms and other members of the inter agency to create a pathway
‘Overhead those forces were protected by aircraft from the US Marines the US Navy the US Air Force and the Air National Guard
‘The force included F-22s F-35s F-18s EA-18s, B-2s, B-1 bombers and other support aircraft, as well as numerous remotely-operated drones.’
On approaching Caracas, Cane says US forces were targeted by anti-aircraft weaponry which they were able to quickly destroy.
Approaching the heavily-fortified compound in Caracas city center where the Maduros were hiding out, Cane said: ‘We assessed that we had maintained totally the element of surprise.’
Delta Force soldiers arrived at the Maduro compound at 1:01am ET Saturday – or 2:01am Caracas time.
President Trump, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth all watch the Maduro mission unfold from a temporary situation room created at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach in the early hours of Saturday
Another photo showing CIA Director Ratcliffe and Trump in Mar-a-Lago during Saturday morning’s operation to capture Nicolas Maduro
An explosion rocks Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning as the Delta Force operation to seize Maduro and wife Cilia got underway
Another photo showing US military aircraft – including F-35 jets – in Puerto Rico on Saturday
Cane said: ‘The apprehension force descended into Maduro’s compound and moved with speed, precision and discipline towards their objective and isolated the area to ensure the safety and security of the ground force while apprehending the indicted persons.’
The general revealed that one US aircraft had been struck by gunfire at the Maduro compound, but was able to remain in the air.
‘Maduro and his wife, both indicted gave up and were taken into custody by the department of justice assisted by our incredible US military,’ Cane said.
The pair were then put on a helicopter guarded by fighter jets and flown to the USS Iwo Jima, landing on the war ship at 3:29am ET.
President Trump added further detail about the moment of capture while speaking to journalists on Saturday, claiming Maduro had tried to seal himself in a panic room.
‘Maduro was trying to get to a safe place.. all metal.. but he couldn’t close the door.’ said Trump.
The president added that US soldiers would have made short work of the metal door even if Maduro had been able to shut it.
The president, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio all watched a livestream of the raid from a temporary ‘situation room’ set up at Mar-a-Lago.
President Trump shared this humiliating photo of Maduro after his capture on Saturday afternoon
A Venezuelan woman celebrates the downfall of Maduro outside Trump’s country club in Palm Beach on Saturday
The atmosphere in Caracas was more muted, with many locals – including this woman – seen forming long lines outside supermarkets
Maduro and his wife will now be flown to Guantanamo Bay and then onto New York City, where the pair face drug smuggling and weapons charges.
Trump claims Maduro was head of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), which he claims flooded the US with cocaine.
Maduro was indicted over his alleged involvement in 2020. His wife was not charged at the time and Trump has yet to clarify what charges she faces.
Trump shocked the world on Saturday by saying the United States would ‘run’ Venezuela until a suitable new leader could be found.
‘We’re going to run the country until as such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,’ he told reporters.
‘We don’t want to be involved with someone else get in and we have the same situation as we had for the last long number of years.’
Wrecked anti-aircraft apparatus and a trashed bus are seen in Caracas as dawn rose on Saturday morning
Trump did not elaborate on the logistics of running a country of 30 million people but said Venezuela’s vast oil reserves would help pay for its revival.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has been tipped as the country’s next president, but Trump made no mention of her on Saturday.
She previously voiced support for Trump’s threats to get rid of Maduro and is hugely popular among the Venezuelan electorate.
Maduro was condemned as a dictator by the majority of his people and other world leaders and accused of destroying his country’s economy while crushing dissent.
Venezuelans living abroad celebrated his ousting Saturday. In Caracas, locals lined up outside supermarkets, seemingly fearful of further economic turmoil.
