Nicolás Maduro's Capture: A Military Operation from Caracas to NYC

Wed Feb 18 2026 19:19:14 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a swift military operation dubbed 'Operation Absolute Resolve,' US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas and transported them to New York City facing serious charges.

The US military executed a rapid operation to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife amidst escalating tensions. Commencing in Caracas, the operation involved air strikes and troop deployments leading to their swift capture. Currently in custody, the pair face numerous charges, including narco-terrorism, as they await trial in New York.

The US says its military operation to capture Venezuela's president took months of planning, but when Donald Trump gave the order to launch, 'Operation Absolute Resolve' only lasted about 150 minutes.

The surprise early-morning attack on Saturday marked an unprecedented event in modern politics and culminated in the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Captured by troops from an elite US army unit as they tried to flee into a fortified safe room, the pair are now being held in a detention centre in New York and face narco-terrorism charges.

As the sun rose on Saturday, the scale of the military operation in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, was clear.

Pictures from Fuerte Tiuna, a huge military complex where top government officials live, show bombed out buildings and charred, smouldering cars.

It was at this compound that Maduro and his wife were captured, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández told the Associated Press news agency.

Operation Absolute Resolve began with reports of explosions at about 02:00 in Caracas (06:00 GMT).

The US cut power to the city, Trump described it as 'dark and deadly'.

The aim was to disable Venezuela's air defences and clear the path for US military helicopters to get to Fuerte Tiuna.

Pictures show Fuerte Tiuna on fire, with huge flames visible for miles.

Once on the ground, troops from the US Army's Delta Force quickly moved in. They gained access to the compound at 02:01 local time, and the Maduros 'gave up' without a struggle.

But Trump noted the Maduros tried to escape into a safe place, describing it as a military 'fortress'. He indicated that had they reached the door of the inner safe room, US forces could have breached it within seconds.

Now in US custody, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported approximately 2,100 miles to New York City. They were flown out of Caracas by helicopter, transferred to the USS Iwo Jima, then onward to the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base before arriving at a military installation in New York.

Their detention comes after being charged with serious crimes including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and possession of firearms with intent to endanger public safety.

Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized, 'They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.'