Top military officials detail operation to capture Venezuelan leader
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s top military officials on Saturday said the operation to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was months in the making.
“This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreet, precise and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2, and was in the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal,“ said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said “over the weeks through Christmas and New Year's, the men and women of the United States military sat ready, patiently waiting for the right triggers to be met and the president to order us into action.”
“Last night, the weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through ocean, mountain, low clouds, ceilings,” Caine said of the operation to oust the Maduro regime.
Caine said the operation “involved more than 150 aircraft launching across the western hemisphere in close coordination.”
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
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