In an extraordinary display of imperial power and meticulous planning, the United States successfully executed Operation Absolute Resolve, snatching Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the early hours of Saturday morning. The operation, which took two hours and 28 minutes, plunged 30 million Venezuelans into profound uncertainty and marked the most aggressive American act of regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Months of preparation by the CIA and other US intelligence agencies were critical to the mission. Their primary objective, from as early as August, was to establish Maduro’s “pattern of life,” meticulously tracking his movements, residences, travel, diet, attire, and even his pets. Despite a significant US military buildup in the Caribbean since September, including nearly a quarter of all US navy warships and the arrival of the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier, Maduro had tightened his personal security. He frequently changed his sleeping locations, using between six to eight different places, and relied heavily on trusted Cuban counterintelligence and bodyguards, who were forbidden from using mobile phones.

The final go-order was given by US President Donald Trump at 10:46 PM eastern time on Friday evening, once weather conditions cleared. Maduro’s location was fixed at a compound on Fuerte Tiuna, a key military base in Caracas. The initial step of the operation was to clear an air corridor by neutralizing Venezuela’s aviation and air defenses. Despite Venezuela possessing a reasonably capable military with Russian Su-30 jets, S-300, and Buk missile systems, these were easily defeated, challenging notions of asymmetric threats to Western weaponry. Airbases and communications centers were bombed, likely by Tomahawk cruise missiles and AGM-88 Harm anti-radiation weapons, with reports of F-35 fighter jets bombing Venezuelan aircraft on the tarmac. Over 150 US aircraft were involved in the night raid.

Amidst the military action, power in Caracas was largely turned off, which Trump attributed to