Photo credit:Modern Diplomacy
For months, US spies had been monitoring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s every move.
The BBC reports that 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”.
In early December, a planned mission dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve” was finalized. It was the result of months of meticulous planning and rehearsals. It even included elite US troops creating a replica of Maduro’s Caracas safe house to practise their entry routes.
The plan amounted to an extraordinary US military intervention in Latin America. Congress was not informed or consulted ahead of time. The precise details were set and top military officials simply had to wait for time zero.
They wanted to maximize the element of surprise, officials said on Saturday.
The order from the president finally came at 22:46 EST on Friday.
What followed was a two-hour-and-twenty-minute mission by air, land and sea that stunned many in Washington and around the world.
The action drew immediate condemnation from several regional powers. Brazil’s President Lula da Silva said the violent capture of Venezuela’s leader set “yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community.”
Loud explosions were heard in Caracas at about 06:00 GMT. Plumes of smoke were rising over the city.
A reporter told the BBC that: “Planes and helicopters were flying all over the city.”
The troops arrived at Maduro’s location shortly after the strikes began at 06:01 GMT, according to General Dan Caine, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer.
In Maduro’s compound, as elite US troops flooded in, according to US President Donald Trump, the Venezuelan president wh has reportedly increased his reliance on Cuban bodyguards in recent months, attempted to flee to a safe room.
He was, however, unable to close the door.
On the US side, “a couple of guys were hit, Trump said, but no US service members were killed.
In a statement on Sunday, Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said a “large part” of Maduro’s security team and “soldiers and innocent civilians” were killed in the US operation.
