Venezuela’s Maduro Flown To USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Assault Ship After Capture
U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife were flown first to the U.S. Navy’s Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima following their capture overnight. TWZ had highlighted the high likelihood that the Iwo Jima had played a central role in last night’s operation in our initial reporting, where readers can otherwise first get up to speed on the details that are known so far.
Trump shared new details about the operation while speaking by phone earlier this morning with Fox News.
“Yes, the Iwo Jima,” Trump said when asked if Maduro and his wife had been taken first to a ship. “They’re on a ship, and they’ll be heading into New York.”
As TWZ previously wrote:
“With what appears to be a very large contingent of 160th SOAR [the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment] helicopters spearheading this operation, it seems likely that the USS Iwo Jima would be used to support them, especially as much of this ship’s air wing has been moved ashore. The special operations mothership M/V Ocean Trader is also a critical part of this effort as it has been in the region for months and sailing with the Iwo Jima, but its ability to support many helicopters is much more limited than an amphibious assault ship.”
“He was in a house that was more like a fortress than a house. It had steel doors, it had what they call a safety space, where it’s solid steel all around,” according to Trump. “He was trying to get into it, but he got bum rushed so fast that he didn’t.”
Trump noted that U.S. forces had “blowtorches” and other equipment they were prepared to use if Maduro had been able to make it into that secure space. It has previously been reported that members of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force were in the lead on the ground.
“I think we had nobody killed … [but] a couple of guys were hit” and a helicopter was hit “pretty hard,” Trump added, but did not elaborate. Details about casualties on either side of the operation remain limited.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. I was able to watch it in real time, and I watched every aspect of it.” Trump also told Fox News. “We were prepared to do a second wave. We were all set — and this was so lethal, this was so powerful, that we didn’t have to.”
Other details about the full U.S. force package involved in the operation in Venezuela are still emerging. This includes a picture now circulating online showing a new addition to U.S. forces in Puerto Rico, U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors. The U.S. military has been building up a large array of air, naval, and ground assets in the region for months now, which TWZ has been tracking closely.
Members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also took part in the operation, and other law enforcement agencies may have participated, as well.
ABC News had separately reported that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been able to pinpoint Maduro’s exact location prior to his capture, citing individuals familiar with the operation, but did not elaborate on where that intelligence came from. The New York Times and CBS News have reported that a source inside the Venezuelan government was a key source of information for the CIA.
The Venezuelan leader and his wife were still asleep at the time and were literally dragged from their bed, according to CNN, citing additional anonymous sources.
Citing anonymous U.S. officials, CBS News had also reported that American authorities had discussed launching the operation on Christmas Day, but that plans for separate strikes targeting ISIS’ franchise in Nigeria led to it being postponed. Poor or at least suboptimal weather then led to it being pushed back further.
“Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi had also written earlier in a post on X. “Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”
Questions have been raised about the legality of the operation to capture Maduro and his wife. There is something of a past precedent in America’s intervention in Panama between December 1989 and January 1990, also known as Operation Just Cause, which ostensibly centered on the arrest of then de facto leader Gen. Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking charges. Noriega surrendered to American forces on January 3, 1990, 36 years ago to the day. Noriega was tried and convicted in the United States, where he was subsequently imprisoned. He was later extradited to France and then back to Panama, where he ultimately died under house arrest in 2017.
“The president [Trump] offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States. Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says,” Vice President J.D. Vance wrote on X earlier this morning. “And PSA for everyone saying this was “illegal”: Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.”
“This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, had also written on X after speaking with Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio about the overnight operation. “He [Rubio] anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.”
In the meantime, the country’s Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil, has insisted that Maduro officially remains President and has called for his immediate return from U.S. custody, in an interview today with Telesur. The Venezuelan government has otherwise condemned the U.S. operation.
Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez, currently Vice President of Venezuela, would technically be next in line to take over for Maduro, even if it were to be in an acting capacity. However, there are reports that she may not presently be in the country to immediately assume that role.
At least two other key figures in Maduro’s regime, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello Rondon, have also appeared publicly in the wake of last night’s operation. It’s interesting to note here that Padrino and Cabello are also under indictment in the United States on charges related to drug trafficking.
“We’re making that decision now,” President Trump had said during his interview with Fox News when asked about what might happen next, leadership-wise, in Venezuela. “We can’t take a chance on letting somebody else run it and just take over where he [Maduro] left off.”
Trump also claimed that Maduro had been close to being convinced to voluntarily “surrender.” There had been reports that Maduro’s capture was part of a preplanned arrangement with the United States, but there are no indications currently that this was the case.
President Trump is still scheduled to speak later today about last night’s operation, where more details are expected to be announced. In the meantime, the situation in Venezuela continues to be very fluid.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com