US President Donald Trump is set to meet on Friday with the elite American troops who led the operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro during a January raid in Caracas.
The White House confirmed that First Lady Melania Trump will accompany the president to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where they are scheduled to greet the service members and their families.
The high-risk mission, carried out in the early hours of January 3, involved US special operations forces deploying by helicopter under the cover of darkness to extract Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a heavily guarded compound in Venezuela’s capital.
According to Venezuelan authorities, the operation began with US airstrikes targeting military installations before ground forces moved in. Officials in Caracas reported that 83 people were killed and more than 112 others sustained injuries during the assault. No American personnel were reported dead.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president and first lady would “meet with military families and the heroic members of our special forces who carried out the successful ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ in Venezuela and helped bring narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro to justice.”
Maduro is currently being held in the United States, where he faces multiple charges including drug trafficking and related offenses. He has denied the allegations and entered a plea of not guilty. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 17 in New York.
Following the operation, Trump approved former vice president Delcy Rodríguez to assume leadership in place of Maduro, contingent on compliance with US conditions regarding oil access and the easing of state repression.
The president has frequently pointed to the Venezuela mission as evidence of American military strength and a demonstration of Washington’s determination to assert its influence in the Western Hemisphere.
At a rally in Iowa in January, Trump described the raid as a “spectacular” mission conducted by a “group of unbelievable talented patriotic people that love our country. You couldn’t hold them back.”
He has also referenced a classified device allegedly used during the operation, calling it the “discombobulator,” which he claimed disabled Venezuelan systems.
“I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump said in an interview last week with NBC News. “But let me just tell you, you know what it does? None of their equipment works, that’s what it does.
“Everything was discombobulated.”
What you should know
The January 3 operation marked a dramatic escalation in US-Venezuela relations and has drawn global attention.
The mission, dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve,” involved coordinated air and ground forces targeting military assets before extracting Nicolas Maduro from a secured location in Caracas.
Venezuelan officials reported significant casualties, though US authorities said no American troops were killed. Maduro’s detention in the United States has triggered legal proceedings, with federal charges centered on alleged drug trafficking activities. His next court hearing in New York is set for March 17.
The move has also sparked geopolitical debate about sovereignty, regional stability and US intervention policy in Latin America.
President Trump’s planned visit to Fort Bragg underscores the political and symbolic weight his administration places on the operation, framing it as a decisive counter-narcotics and national security action.
