Operation Absolute Resolve: The Dawn Raid That Toppled the Venezuelan Narco-State
January 3, 2026
By: Max Afterburner
In the pre-dawn hours of January 3, 2026, the skies over Caracas erupted in a symphony of precision strikes, marking the culmination of months of escalating U.S.-Venezuela tensions. Codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, the audacious military incursion targeted none other than Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, accused by Washington of orchestrating a "narco-terrorist" regime. By 4:21 a.m. ET, President Donald Trump announced their capture on social media, hailing it as a "decisive blow against the cartels poisoning our streets." What unfolded was not just a raid but a geopolitical earthquake, reshaping the Western Hemisphere's power dynamics amid cries of imperialism and cheers of liberation.
Roots of Resolve: A Simmering Conflict
The operation's genesis traces back to the disputed 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, where opposition figures like Edmundo González claimed victory, only for Maduro to cling to power amid widespread fraud allegations. The U.S. response was swift and multifaceted: sanctions tightened, diplomatic isolation deepened, and accusations mounted that Maduro's government facilitated drug trafficking through groups like Tren de Aragua and the Cartel de los Soles—designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the State Department.
By August 2025, the U.S. initiated a military buildup in the southern Caribbean, deploying warships and conducting interdictions on suspected drug vessels. September saw the first overt strikes on trafficking ships, while November brought the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group to the region. December escalated with a naval quarantine on Venezuelan oil tankers, covert CIA insertions, and Trump's public threats of "total accountability." Behind the scenes, the Pentagon orchestrated rehearsals, securing access to Trinidad and Tobago's airfields for staging. Trump greenlit the go-order around 11 p.m. ET on January 2, framing it under a nascent "Donroe Doctrine" prioritizing U.S. spheres of influence over multilateral norms.
The objective was clear: neutralize Maduro as the linchpin of a "narco-state" presiding over the world's largest proven oil reserves. Indictments from the Southern District of New York charged him and Flores with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation, and weapons trafficking—crimes allegedly funding a regime accused of electoral theft and human rights abuses. Post-capture plans envisioned a U.S.-stewarded transition, with American oversight of Venezuela's oil sector to "reimburse" intervention costs and stabilize exports.
The Strike: Precision in the Darkness
Operation Absolute Resolve kicked off at 02:01 UTC−04:00 (3:01 a.m. local time), a 148-minute blitz executed by a symphony of U.S. forces. Over 150 aircraft roared into action: F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning IIs for stealthy air superiority, F/A-18 Hornets and EA-18G Growlers for electronic warfare, B-1 Lancers for heavy ordnance, and drones like the RQ-170 Sentinel for reconnaissance. CH-47 Chinooks and AH-64 Apaches provided insertion and close air support, ferrying Delta Force operators from the U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment into Caracas' urban sprawl.
Targets spanned northern Venezuela: Fort Tiuna and Generalísimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base (La Carlota) for command decapitation; La Guaira port and Higuerote Airport for logistics disruption; and communication antennas on Cerro El Volcán to sow chaos. Explosions rippled across Caracas suburbs—Baruta, El Hatillo, Charallave—triggering blackouts in southern districts and a national state of emergency declared by Maduro's fleeing administration. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez later pleaded for "proof of life" as reports confirmed the presidential couple's evasion attempt into a fortified safe house, thwarted by Delta teams.
By 04:29, the op wrapped: Maduro and Flores, zip-tied and hooded, were exfiltrated via helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima offshore, bound for U.S. custody. One U.S. chopper took shrapnel damage from ground fire but pressed on, injuring a "handful" of personnel with non-life-threatening wounds. Venezuelan casualties remain opaque—official tallies report "innocent victims" in urban strikes, including one civilian death in a Catia La Mar apartment and scattered injuries from errant rockets.
Aftermath: Triumph, Turmoil, and Tribulation
Trump's Truth Social post at 05:21 a.m. ET crowed of a "clean sweep," vowing U.S. troops would "run Venezuela" until a "safe transition" to figures like González, now in Spanish exile. Opposition leader María Corina Machado hailed it as a "long-awaited dawn," urging democratic renewal. Yet, Maduro's loyalists mobilized, declaring a "state of external commotion" and guerrilla resistance. The FAA shuttered Venezuelan airspace, stranding flights and amplifying isolation.
Global reactions cleaved sharply. Republicans like Sens. Mike Lee and Lisa McClain lauded the "gutsy leadership" against narco-threats, while Democrats—including Sens. Brian Schatz and Tim Kaine—decried it as an unconstitutional power grab sans congressional nod. Abroad, Brazil, China, Cuba, Russia, and the UN slammed the "imperialist aggression" as a UN Charter violation, evoking comparisons to Putin's Ukraine playbook. Allies like Argentina's Javier Milei, Peru, and Israel offered tacit support; the UK urged restraint without entanglement. Colombia beefed up its border; the EU and Canada called for de-escalation.
Critics decry Operation Absolute Resolve as a watershed in "Putinization"—raw power over rules-based order, with oil grabs evoking neocolonialism. Defenders counter it's justice deferred too long. As Maduro faces trial, one truth endures: the raid's echoes will reverberate through Latin America's fragile democracies for years.