President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk after arriving on Marine One at Stansted Airport, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Stansted, England. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
In late January, the U.S. and the interim Rodríguez government signed a massive energy pact. The U.S. has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil, with proceeds flowing into U.S.-controlled accounts to be disbursed at the discretion of the U.S. government.
Nearly 200 U.S. troops were involved in the Maduro operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve. Seven were injured.
Venezuela’s defense ministry said 83 people were killed in the mission on its own side, including Venezuelan security forces and 32 Cuban security personnel.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is also home to units that could be deployed if diplomatic efforts in the Middle East falter, including Trump’s push for Iran to reach an agreement or face what he has warned could be a "very traumatic" outcome. The visit comes just as the U.S. deployed a second aircraft carrier, the USS Ford, to the region while talks continue.
The Pentagon has not revealed which military units were involved in the operation.
President Donald Trump shared a photo of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after strikes on Venezuela, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
LAWMAKER WHO FLED COMMUNISM DRAFTS SPECIAL RESOLUTION HONORING TRUMP AFTER MADURO OUSTER
Trump has repeatedly hailed the Maduro capture as a "spectacular" operation that showed the U.S.’s capability to assert dominance in its own backyard. He called the special operators involved a "group of unbelievable talented patriotic people that love our country. You couldn’t hold them back."
The president has also hinted at a secret weapon he calls the "discombobulator" used in the operation to disable Venezuelan communications and equipment and disorient personnel.
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"I’m not allowed to talk about it," Trump said in an interview with NBC News. "But let me just tell you, you know what it does? None of their equipment works, that’s what it does.
"Everything was discombobulated."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-honor-special-forces-behind-maduro-capture-fort-bragg-global-tensions-escalate