On 3 January 2026, the political landscape of the Western Hemisphere shifted sharply with Operation Absolute Resolve, described by the United States as a combined military and law enforcement action that ended with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores taken into US custody.
The operation’s defining attribute was the coupling of special operations, air dominance, and cyber-electromagnetic disruption, enabling a leadership seizure without the footprint of a prolonged ground invasion.
Washington’s stated rationale followed two tracks. First, US authorities framed the mission as enforcement of federal indictments alleging narco-terrorism and state-linked trafficking.
Second, the action aligned with a strategic case: securing access to Venezuela’s oil reserves amid wider energy instability.
US messaging also reflected a harder regional posture, presented as a revived, maximal reading of the Monroe Doctrine, commonly nicknamed the “Don-roe Doctrine”, aimed at limiting the role of China, Russia, and Iran in the hemisphere.
The Hemisphere Shockwave
First Hours: Darkness Over Caracas
In the early hours of 3 January 2026, Caracas reportedly experienced a sudden loss of power that preceded a rapid sequence of strikes against key military sites.
The blackout was attributed in US leadership statements to specialist cyber and electronic warfare capabilities. The apparent purpose was to degrade situational awareness, interfere with command-and-control, and reduce the effectiveness of Venezuelan air defence.
At roughly 2:01 a.m. local time, residents described multiple detonations across military infrastructure, including the Fuerte Tiuna complex, widely treated as an operational hub of Venezuela’s armed forces and a core locus of regime security.
The operational concept resembled a leadership removal mission. Neutralise visibility. Suppress response. Extract principal targets before defensive systems reorganise.
Within hours, US messaging presented the outcome as decisive. A large-scale strike package had been executed, and Maduro and Flores had been removed from Venezuela and transferred to US control.
Images circulated of the detainee reportedly aboard the USS Iwo Jima, signalling not only the end of Maduro’s immediate freedom of action, but also a sharp shift in how Washington was prepared to use force in Latin America.
The Build-Up: Signals, Pressure, and a Misread Warning
The capture did not appear as a single-night improvisation. In the months leading into late 2025, US military posture in the Caribbean reportedly expanded under US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
Major naval assets were positioned within reach of Venezuela’s coastline, including the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and additional guided-missile vessels.
That forward posture was matched by legal and rhetorical escalation. The US administration designated the “Cártel de Los Soles” as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO).
The practical effect of that label is not merely symbolic. It can alter operational framing, move counternarcotics activity closer to counter-terror doctrine, and widen latitude for interdiction, including lethal force at sea under certain interpretations.
Between September 2025 and January 2026, US forces reportedly conducted around 35 strikes on maritime targets suspected of narcotics trafficking, producing an estimated 115 fatalities.
Those actions also functioned as a live test of Venezuelan reaction time and air-defence responsiveness.
Parallel reporting pointed to intelligence preparation inside Venezuela, including surveillance intended to establish “pattern of life” indicators for high-value individuals. That approach is consistent with a raid plan developed over time rather than a reactive decision.
The Military Layer
Scale and Synchronisation Across Domains
Operation Absolute Resolve was described by US leadership as scale combined with integration. Senior US military leadership stated that the mission involved the synchronised launch of 150+ aircraft from roughly 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere. Rather than a single-platform mission, it relied on layered roles. Air superiority. Strike. Electronic attack. Intelligence and surveillance. Rotary insertion. Naval basing.
Reported Capability Set Used in Operation Absolute Resolve
| Capability Category | Illustrative Platforms | Primary Purpose | Notes / Indicator |
| Air dominance | F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II | Control of airspace; pressure on air defences | Fighter coverage enabling rotary movement |
| Long-range strike | B-1B Lancer | Precision effects on hardened nodes; signalling | Designed for rapid, heavy payload delivery |
| Electronic attack | EA-18G Growler | Radar/comms disruption; suppression effects | Counter-air defence enabler |
| Rotary insertion | MH-60 Black Hawk, MH-47 Chinook | Move assault and extraction teams | Low-level ingress profile reported |
| ISR and early warning | E-2 Hawkeye, RQ-170 Sentinel | Real-time tracking; early warning picture | Persistent feeds for targeting and safety |
| Naval platforms | USS Gerald R. Ford, USS Iwo Jima | Launch deck; detention / transfer platform | Enables offshore control and custody |
| Direct action / HVT | Delta Force, 160th SOAR, FBI HRT | Capture and extraction of named targets | Integration of military and federal capability |
The Target Seizure at Fuerte Tiuna
The detention of Maduro was attributed to US Army Delta Force, supported by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).
Reporting described an ingress profile kept exceptionally low, around 100 feet above sea level, to reduce radar exposure during approach from the Caribbean before penetrating Venezuelan airspace.
At the objective area, US leadership described the residence as hardened, effectively a “fortress”.
That included a protected internal space reinforced with heavy steel.
Entry was reportedly achieved with specialised breaching equipment, including high-heat cutting tools.
US officials described extensive rehearsal on full-scale replicas, allowing assault teams to internalise routes, bottlenecks, and likely defensive positions.
Official accounts diverged sharply on casualties. US claims leaned towards limited collateral impact and minimal friendly losses. Venezuelan officials asserted a materially higher toll, including civilian and military deaths, with some estimates reaching 40 fatalities.
The clash between “surgical” framing and local casualty reporting is likely to remain a focal point in legal and diplomatic contestation.
Cyber-Electromagnetic Suppression and Air Defence Neutralisation
A decisive enabling layer was the reported interruption of Venezuela’s command-and-control ecosystem.
The Caracas blackout was publicly linked by US leadership to specialist “expertise”, indicating an attack path against the national grid or control nodes rather than a purely physical strike.
In parallel, the presence of electronic warfare aircraft suggested broad jamming intended to erode the effectiveness of advanced systems reportedly in Venezuelan inventory, including S-300VM and Buk-M2E variants.
The combined effect of cyber disruption and electromagnetic suppression would be straightforward.
Prevent timely tracking. Complicate interceptor launches. Create an operating window for rotary assets inside contested airspace.