BREAKING - In a stunning midnight raid, U.S. forces capture Nicolás Maduro

U.S. Forces Capture Venezuelan President Maduro

President Trump announced that U.S. forces had conducted a large-scale strike in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Flores, and were transporting them to New York to face drug and weapons charges.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela “until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” He provided few details on how the country would be administered, saying only that it would be overseen by “a group,” and added that he was not opposed to deploying “boots on the ground.”

According to people briefed on the operation, American special operations forces captured Maduro with the help of a C.I.A. source within the Venezuelan government who had tracked his location in recent days. Trump said in a Fox News interview that Maduro and Flores were taken aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, a U.S. warship operating in the Caribbean, before being flown to New York.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military mission—named “Absolute Resolve”—was launched at the request of the Justice Department. Caine said U.S. warplanes disabled Venezuelan air defenses, allowing helicopters to enter Caracas, and that one aircraft was struck but remained operational. The operation involved 150 aircraft launched across the hemisphere, one of the most detailed accounts the U.S. government has released.

“He continued, ‘Overhead, the forces were safeguarded by aircraft from the United States Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Air National Guard. The aerial lineup included F-22s, F-35s, F-18s, EA-18s, E-2s, B-1 bombers, and other support aircraft, along with numerous remotely piloted drones.’”

Trump said the Venezuelan military “knew we were coming” and was swiftly overwhelmed. He said no American service members were killed, although he had earlier suggested there were casualties.

The operation began in the pre-dawn hours around 2 a.m., with multiple explosions reported in Caracas and surrounding areas. Residents saw low-flying aircraft, marking the start of what officials called kinetic operations. By 4:17 a.m., Trump announced on social media that Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country.

Trump described Maduro as “highly guarded” in a presidential palace “like a fortress,” though he never reached a safe room. U.S. forces were equipped with “massive blowtorches” to cut through steel walls if necessary. “It had what they call a safety space, where it’s solid steel all around,” Trump said. “He didn’t get that space closed. He was trying to get into it, but he got bum-rushed so fast that he didn’t make it. We were prepared.”

“Caine said, ‘We arrived at Maduro’s compound at 1:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, or 2:01 a.m. local time in Caracas. The apprehension team moved into the compound with speed, precision, and discipline, securing the area to ensure the safety of the ground force while apprehending the indicted individuals.

“He added, ‘Upon entering the target area, the helicopters came under fire and returned it with overwhelming force in self-defense. One aircraft was hit but remained flyable. As the president noted earlier, all aircraft returned safely, and the damaged aircraft stayed operational for the remainder of the mission.’

Caine told reporters that Maduro and his wife then surrendered and were taken into custody by the Justice Department, with no U.S. personnel casualties.

‘After securing the indicted individuals, the force prepared to depart. Helicopters were called in to extract the team, while fighter jets and remotely piloted aircraft provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire. Multiple self-defense engagements occurred as the force withdrew from Venezuela,’ he added.”

Preparation included practicing maneuvers on a full-scale replica of the building. “They actually built a house identical to the one they went into,” Trump added.

The operation took place in darkness, with Trump claiming that almost all the lights in Caracas were turned off. “This thing was so organized. They went into a dark space with machine guns facing them all over the place,” he said. At least seven explosions were reported, and the entire attack lasted less than 30 minutes.

Trump said a few U.S. personnel were injured during the operation, but he believed no one was killed. “A couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape,” he said. He added that no aircraft were lost, though one helicopter was “hit pretty hard.” “We had to do it because it’s a war,” Trump said.

Weather delayed the mission
Trump said the operation had been postponed for several days while waiting for cloud cover to clear. “The weather has to be perfect. We waited four days… and then all of a sudden it opened up and we said, go. It was just amazing,” he said.

Maduro’s current location
Trump said Maduro and Flores were flown by helicopter to a U.S. warship before being transported to New York to face charges. The Justice Department released an indictment accusing the pair of an alleged role in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

Months of escalating actions
The raid marked a significant escalation from a series of U.S. strikes on vessels accused of transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. At least 35 strikes had been carried out, reportedly killing 115 people. On Dec. 29, Trump said the U.S. struck a facility where drug-laden boats were loaded, with the CIA conducting a drone strike at a docking area allegedly used by Venezuelan drug cartels. This was the first known direct U.S. operation on Venezuelan soil since the strikes began in September..

Air Force wants "Super B-1s" as a lead up the B-21.

The U.S. Air Force is moving forward with another phase of modernization for its B-1B Lancer bomber fleet, building on upgrades completed in 2020 under the Integrated Battle Station program and subsequent weapons and survivability improvements. The goal is to keep the aircraft viable into the 2030s as the B-21 Raider gradually enters service.

First delivered in the 1980s, the B-1B is a supersonic, long-range heavy bomber originally designed for nuclear missions before being repurposed for conventional strike roles following Cold War arms control agreements.

Today, approximately 45 B-1Bs remain in service, down from the original fleet of 100 aircraft. The Air Force plans for the B-21 to replace the Lancer over the next decade, but the transition will be gradual, requiring the B-1B to remain operational in the interim.

Current modernization efforts focus on expanded weapons integration, upgraded communications, improved defensive avionics, and structural life-extension work. These upgrades are intended to preserve the bomber’s relevance in increasingly contested environments while the Air Force transitions to its next-generation bomber force.

At the same time, the Air Force plans to acquire roughly 100 B-21 Raiders—stealth bombers designed to penetrate advanced air defense systems operated by peer adversaries.

This raises a fundamental question: does continued investment in an aging, non-stealth platform make strategic sense as modern air defenses grow more capable, or would resources be better spent accelerating and expanding B-21 procurement?
What the B-1B Upgrade Includes—and Why the Air Force Says It’s Needed

The B-1B modernization effort is intended to reduce capability gaps during the transition period before the B-21 reaches operational scale. A key element of the upgrade is the integration of external heavy-stores pylons, which significantly expand the bomber’s weapons-carrying capacity. This allows the B-1B to employ a wider range of stand-off munitions and potentially future hypersonic weapons, reinforcing its role as a long-range strike platform despite its age.

At the same time, the Air Force has fielded upgraded defensive avionics, integrated advanced data links, and modernized identification systems to improve the B-1B’s ability to operate within joint and coalition networks.

These enhancements have been paired with sustainment efforts, including the return of aircraft from the boneyard, to meet congressionally mandated fleet-size requirements.

Air Force planners argue the upgrades are essential: without them, the B-1B’s effectiveness against increasingly sophisticated enemy air defenses would steadily decline.

The bomber’s substantial payload and long range remain valuable—particularly in the Indo-Pacific and in deterrence missions—where sheer firepower and standoff reach can matter more than stealth alone.

Maintaining the B-1B’s viability not only sustains bomber capacity while the Air Force awaits the B-21 Raider, but also hedges against potential delays or production shortfalls. Full-rate production and operational fielding of the stealth bomber remain years away and are contingent on industrial capacity and budget stability.

In that context, continued investment in the B-1B serves a practical purpose: without it, the Air Force risks a near-term “bathtub effect,” in which bomber force levels decline as aging platforms retire faster than next-generation replacements can be delivered.

Despite the rationale for upgrading the B-1B to manage near-term risk, a strong case can also be made for accelerating and expanding the B-21 Raider force.

The B-21’s stealth architecture, advanced sensor suite, and deep integration with future joint-force networks are purpose-built to penetrate the world’s most sophisticated integrated air defense systems—a capability that is increasingly central to U.S. global strike strategy.

Unlike the B-1B, whose survivability is inherently constrained in high-threat environments, the B-21 is designed for a new era of distributed operations and sustained competition with peer adversaries.

Here’s a refined rewrite that tightens the argument, smooths transitions, and sharpens the strategic conclusion:

Yet current procurement plans still call for only about 100 B-21s—a figure many analysts argue is insufficient to meet the demands of deterring conflict across multiple theaters simultaneously. Defense analysts and retired senior officers have suggested that a force closer to 175–200 aircraft, or even upwards of 225, would better align with projected strategic requirements and provide adequate capacity alongside legacy platforms.

Advocates of a larger B-21 fleet contend that economies of scale and expanded industrial capacity could support higher production rates. Air Force leadership has also indicated as recently as December 2024 that accelerating the B-21 build schedule would be feasible if required.

The principal constraint, however, remains cost. Each B-21 is expected to carry a unit price of roughly $700 million, with total program costs likely exceeding $100 billion. Expanding the fleet would increase overall expenditures—but proponents argue it would still be more cost-effective than allowing a future capability gap to emerge, restarting production lines years later, and fielding additional aircraft with a shorter remaining service life.

Upgrading the B-1B may be the least risky option in the near term—and likely a necessary one given how long it will take to field the B-21 at scale—but it does not resolve the underlying question of long-term force structure.

If the B-21 is truly the bomber designed for the threat environment the United States expects to face, the more difficult and consequential decision will be whether the Air Force is willing to commit to buying significantly more of them sooner rather than later.

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