‘What he ate’: Inside the meticulously planned operation to capture Maduro
Multiple strong explosions were heard on Saturday in Venezuelaâs capital Caracas amid rising tensions with the United States on January 3, 2026. (Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided a very detailed account of how the U.S. military’s mission to apprehend Nicholas Maduro and his wife took place early Saturday morning.
Here are highlights:
The mission was called Operation “Absolute Resolve”
Caine said that more than 150 aircraft were involved, including fighter aircraft, bombers, surveillance aircraft, intelligence aircraft, and helicopters. He said the entire joint force was involved in the mission (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, intelligence agencies).
The aircraft involved were:
— Fighters: F-35s, F/A-18s, E/A-18s, F-22s
— Bombers: B-1 bombers
— Unmanned aircraft and E-2 Hawkeyes
He said the aircraft took off from 20 different bases on land at at sea and that support aircraft were involved as well.
President Donald Trump gave the order to undertake the mission at 10:46 p.m., Caine said. He said the president’s message of “Good luck and Godspeed” was communicated to the entire force.
The extraction force that captured Maduro and his wife included law enforcement.
The helicopters carrying the force flew at an altitude of 100 feet above the water as they approached Venezuela.
As they came near, air defense systems were disabled to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters to Maduro’s compound.
The helicopters arrived at the compound at 1:01 a.m. Eastern Time, 2:01 a.m. local time.
Upon arrival, they came under fire and responded in self-defense with “overwhelming force,” Caine said.
One of the helicopters was hit, but remained flyable.
Maduro and his wife were taken into custody by Justice Department officials “assisted by incredible U.S. military” forces with “no loss of life,” Caine said. He did not provide any details of any injured Americans.
When the helicopters left the compound, they were protected by fighter aircraft and drones that provided suppressive fire.
The extraction force was over water at 3:39 a.m. Eastern Time, Caine said.
Maduro and wife were then taken to the USS Iwo Jima.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, in a call to state TV Saturday morning, said that “innocent people” had died, but gave no specifics, and didn’t address during a later speech.
Caine said the mission was “meticulously planned” and was “the culmination of months of planning and rehearsals.”
“We think we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, not to get it right, but to ensure that we cannot get it wrong. Our jobs are to integrate combat power so when the order comes, we can deliver overwhelming force at the time and the place of our choosing against any foe anywhere in the world,” he said.
The military worked closely with the U.S. intelligence agencies: CIA, NGA, NSA. “We watched, we prepared, we remained patient and professional,” said Caine.
U.S. intelligence knew Maduro’s pattern of life — where he moved, lived, traveled, ate, and worked, he said.
The mission was ready in early December waiting for the right day to maximize the element of surprise, he said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — As the partial government shutdown continues, Democrats have sent their counteroffer to Republicans and the White House — outlining their demands to fund the Department of Homeland Security and reform the embattled agency.
The specifics of the proposal, sent late Monday, remain unclear. ABC News has reached out to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office for more details, though the New York senator has been reticent to negotiate openly through the press.
President Donald Trump has said he will sit down with Democrats to negotiate.
“I will,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington from Florida on Monday, though he didn’t give any timeline. “But you know, we have to protect our law enforcement. They’ve done a great job.”
The shutdown, now in its fourth day, is affecting DHS agencies like the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Secret Service — as Democrats demand reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A majority of DHS employees are expected to work during the shutdown, though without pay — the second time in recent months after the record-long, 43-day government shutdown last fall.
Meanwhile, Capitol Hill remains nearly empty with lawmakers on recess. They’ve been told to prepare to return to Washington on 48-hours notice if a deal comes together. If not, lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return until next week.
Democrats have asked for a range of new restrictions on immigration enforcement, including a mandate for body cameras, judicial warrants before agents can enter private property — rather than administrative warrants — and a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks. They also want stricter use-of-force policy and new training standards for agents.
Republicans have objected to many of those demands, with the exception of some openness to body cameras.
On Air Force One late Monday, Trump said, “I don’t like some of the things they’re asking for. We’re going to protect law enforcement. We are going to protect ICE.”
ICE is continuing operations because of a $75 billion infusion provided in Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” that was passed by Congress last summer. More than 93% of ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are expected to continue working during the shutdown.
The DHS funding fight erupted after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 — just weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a mother of three, by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
White House “border czar” Tom Homan, who last week announced an end to the Minneapolis surge, said that the current partial government shutdown has had no impact on the administration’s immigration enforcement operations.
“ICE has continued to enforce the law across the country. They’re already funded,” Homan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “Now the ICE officers won’t be getting paid. But they’re getting used to that, it seems like. So, no, the immigration mission, the reason why President Trump was elected to be president, continues.”
Schumer, on Sunday, continued to argue for reforms to ICE.
“These are common-sense proposals,” Schumer said on CNN. He added, “ICE is rogue, out of control.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, appearing on “Face the Nation” on CBS on Sunday, declined to say if there were any points Democrats were willing to concede in the fight over DHS funding.
“Well, we’re willing to have a good-faith conversation about everything, but, fundamentally, we need change that is dramatic, that is bold, that is meaningful and that is transformational,” Jeffries said.
ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while aboard Air Force One, February 6, 2026 en route to Palm Beach, Florida. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — After Tuesday night’s embarrassing defeat for Speaker Mike Johnson at the hands of rebellious Republicans, the House is set to vote Wednesday evening on a Democratic-led resolution to rescind President Donald Trump’s tariffs imposed on Canada — which could result in a major rebuke of the president’s trade policies.
The legislation, led by the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, would force House lawmakers to go on the record for the first time on Trump’s tariffs and trade policy.
The measure seeks to end the emergency declaration Trump used to justify his Canada tariffs.
Even if the tariff vote clears the GOP-led House, Trump is likely to veto the measure. It’s unclear how the largely symbolic vote will fall given Speaker Johnson’s razor-thin majority.
Johnson argued on Fox Business Wednesday morning that Congress should not be getting in the way of Trump’s tariffs.
“I think it’s a big mistake. I don’t think we need to go down the road of trying to limit the president’s power while he is in the midst of negotiating America first trade agreements,” Johnson said, adding that tariffs have “done great for the economy.”
He pointed to the tariff case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court — arguing that Congress should allow that process to play out.
House Republican leaders have fought for a year to block such a tariff vote from hitting the House floor, but the failed rule vote Tuesday night opened the door to full House votes on overturning the president’s tariffs.
Three Republicans — Reps. Kevin Kiley, Don Bacon and Thomas Massie — bucked their own party to defeat the procedural effort that failed by a vote of 214-217.
Bacon posted on X Wednesday, “Congress has Article One Constitutional responsibilities on tariffs. We cannot & should not outsource our responsibilities. As an old fashioned Conservative I know tariffs are a tax on American consumers. I know some disagree. But this debate and vote should occur in the House.”
Even if the House passes the resolution the matter would need to go back to the Senate.
Last October, the Senate voted on similar resolutions to cancel some of Trump’s tariffs.
At the time, some Senate Republicans joined Democrats to rebuke the president’s trade policy.
US President Donald Trump arrives for a medal of honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, March 2, 2026. President Trump is awarding the Medal of Honor to three US Army soldiers. (Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied that Israel forced his hand into attacking Iran, and in another new explanation, said he ordered the U.S. strike on Iran because he concluded Tehran was going to attack the U.S. first after negotiations stalled.
Trump also acknowledged most of the individuals the U.S. favored to next lead in Tehran have been killed, including some in a new strike on Tuesday.
Hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Trump for the first time took questions in public on the war, now in its fourth day and expanding throughout the Middle East.
Amid scrutiny over why the U.S. military campaign against Iran was necessary, and mixed messages from the administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday that the strikes were triggered in part because the U.S. knew Israel was going to attack Iran and Iran would retaliate.
“Did [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu pull the United States into this war?” ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott asked Trump on Tuesday.
“No. I might have forced their hand,” Trump replied. “You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. They were going to attack. If we didn’t do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that.”
“Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first. And I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand. But Israel was ready and we were ready,” Trump continued, appearing to contradict Rubio.
Rubio also told reporters Monday that, despite his comments, Israel didn’t force Trump’s hand. House Speaker Mike Johnson, after a Gang of 8 briefing on Capitol Hill on Monday, said Israel was determined to act “with or without the U.S.”
Trump did not provide evidence for why his administration believed Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. Previously, American intelligence agencies had found Iran would not have had missiles capable of reaching the U.S. for another nine years, until 2035.
Trump said most of Iran’s military infrastructure, including its navy and air force, has been “knocked out.”
“We’re hitting them very hard,” Trump said, later adding: “They’re going to be in for a lot of hurt.”
On what’s next for Iran and who America would like to see take over, Trump admitted most of the individuals identified to potentially replace Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have also been killed.
“Most of the people we had in mind are dead … And now we have another group, they may be dead also based on reports,” Trump said. “So, I guess you have a third wave coming in pretty soon. We’re not going to know anybody.”
“I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person,” Trump said. “That could happen.”
Trump also poured cold water on the idea of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran, being an option to lead the country.
“Some people like him, and we haven’t been thinking about too much about that. It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate,” Trump said. “I’ve said that he looks like a very nice person. but it would seem to me that somebody that’s there that’s currently popular if there is such a person.”
Meanwhile, the war is widening in the Middle East as Iran seeks retaliation for the U.S. and Israeli attacks. Tehran has struck nearly a dozen countries in the region, which Trump said he was “surprised” by.
“They hit countries that had nothing to do with what’s going on,” Trump said, criticizing Iran for striking civilian infrastructure like hotels.
The State Department has warned U.S. citizens to leave the region and closed several embassies. So far, six U.S. service members have died in the war and more have been wounded, according to U.S. officials.
ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers pressed Trump on the Americans who are currently stranded in the Middle East and why there wasn’t an evacuation plan to get them out. The president said because it “happened all very quickly.”
“I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked. They were getting ready to attack Israel. They were getting ready to attack others,” he said.
The State Department later said it was working on securing military aircraft and charter flights for Americans who want to evacuate.
As for further impacts on Americans, Trump said oil prices could likely rise temporarily as the conflict plays out.
“People felt that it’s something that had to be done. So, if we have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before,” Trump said.
In the Oval Office, President Trump also notably took aim at several European allies who he said have not supported his administration’s strikes on Iran.
“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said as he rebuked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for initially not letting U.S. aircraft to use the Diego Garcia base that the U.K. controls.
Trump also threatened to cut off all trade with Spain after the country said the U.S. cannot use its joint military bases for operations against Iran.
Germany’s Merz said he would speak with Trump about the “day after” in Iran.
“We are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Tehran away,” Merz said.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump posted on social media that it is “too late” for talks with Iran and warned the U.S. has enough weapons to fight “forever.”
“Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies,” Trump wrote in a social media post, despite having said on Monday that the U.S. would “easily prevail” in the conflict and campaigning in opposition to prolonged foreign entanglements.
The president has said the war with Iran could last for several weeks.
ABC News’ Karen Travers contributed to this report.
