REBECCA GRANT: The strategic logic of Operation Absolute Resolve

President Donald Trump has taken a bold measurement successful his run to yank Venezuela backmost from the brink – and to support China retired of the Western Hemisphere. 

Operation Absolute Resolve was a stunning tactical occurrence by U.S. subject forces. Now comes the hard part: remodeling Venezuela without creating a quagmire. 

Nabbing illegitimate president Nicolas Maduro was different masterpiece orchestrated by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan "Razin" Caine. Like the Operation Midnight Hammer’s strikes connected Iran’s atomic facilities past June, this cognition progressive implicit 150 craft and built connected America’s implicit aerial dominance. Caine credited the "years of acquisition hunting for terrorists."  Intelligence agencies mapped each infinitesimal of Maduro’s regular – down to his pets.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro successful a representation edit successful beforehand of MDC Brooklyn. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images and  Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"We watched, we waited, we prepared," Caine explained Saturday. U.S. ships and craft were poised connected a trigger alert for days.  Then, the upwind broke, with coastal fog lifting conscionable capable for "the astir skilled aviators successful the world" to alert successful to get Maduro, arsenic associated forces laid down a corridor of layered effects.

WHAT IS DELTA FORCE AND WHAT DO THEY DO? INSIDE THE ELITE US ARMY UNIT THAT CAPTURED MADURO

U.S. forces achieved full surprise. Down went Venezuela’s Russian-supplied aerial defenses, arsenic the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Cyber Command blanked retired and blinded Venezuela’s subject coordination to "create a pathway" for the helicopters, successful Caine’s words. Special Forces helicopters inserted forces into the Maduro compound. On foot, U.S. forces grabbed Maduro conscionable earlier the dictator fled.

"He tried to get to his harmless place, but helium was incapable to adjacent the door," recounted Trump. 

This was nary portion of cake. The extraction forces were successful hostile airspace astatine 1:01 AM Eastern time. It was 3:29 AM earlier the extraction unit helicopters carrying Maduro fought their mode retired aft aggregate self-defense engagements. That’s a batch of tense clip connected the ground. Fortunately, they had implicit tactical aerial cover. U.S. Air Force F-22s, F-35s, and B-1 bombers, were portion of the posse, on with the craft bearer USS Gerald R. Ford’s F/A-18EF Super Hornets, EA-18G physics onslaught planes and E-2D Hawkeye radar planes. So were what Caine described arsenic "a batch of drones" and nary uncertainty a assortment of "black" Special Forces aircraft.

IRAN AND MADURO TIES SUFFER MAJOR BLOW FOLLOWING US OPERATION AND CAPTURE OF VENEZUELAN DICTATOR

Via those drones, and different friendly-force indicators, Trump watched each infinitesimal of the raid unfold. 

Imagine the daze of the Chinese delegation successful Caracas. Xi Jinping had conscionable sent diplomats to cheque up connected the $67 cardinal China has invested successful Venezuela. Too late. They were guests of grant astatine the past cocktail enactment hosted by Maduro astatine the Miraflores Presidential Palace hours earlier the airstrikes began. Then they saw different jaw-dropping show of U.S. subject precision, with tactics that tin beryllium carried retired "against immoderate foe, anyplace successful the world," Caine said.

The seizure connected Saturday of Venezuelan person Nicolás Maduro and his woman is drafting stark comparisons to the 1989 apprehension of erstwhile Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. (Bill Gentile/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images and Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images)

For each the subject success, Trump’s Operation Absolute Resolve volition yet beryllium judged connected however Venezuela turns out. Americans retrieve the words of Colin Powell: "You interruption it, you ain it." Also called the Pottery Barn rule, the proposal was fixed by the then-secretary of authorities to President George W. Bush anterior to the 2003 penetration of Iraq. It wasn’t followed.

The quality with Trump is already apparent. Trump believes a palmy concern with the U.S. tin "make the radical of Venezuela rich, autarkic and safe." 

Yes, Trump was huffy astatine Venezuela for the "human destruction" caused by drugs and transgression gangs. "They sent everybody atrocious into the United States," Trump said Saturday. Besides, "They took each of our lipid agelong ago. We privation it back," Trump said Dec. 17. 

But Trump’s argumentation motivations are besides far-sighted. His squad appears to person been readying Venezuela’s adjacent section for a agelong time. They gave Maduro a accidental to surrender. Foolish Maduro turned down "multiple generous offers" and decided to "act similar a chaotic man," arsenic Rubio said connected Saturday.

MADURO MET CHINESE ENVOY HOURS BEFORE US CAPTURE FROM CARACAS AS BEIJING SLAMS OPERATION

Moving on, Rubio has already talked astatine magnitude with Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. She was "gracious" but "had nary choice," Trump said. Rodriguez tin cooperate, possibly bringing Maduro’s erstwhile henchmen on with her, oregon determination is simply a 2nd onslaught astatine the ready, according to Trump.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) looks connected arsenic President Donald Trump (C) meets with Argentina's President Javier Milei (2nd L) successful the Cabinet Room astatine the White House successful Washington, DC, connected October 14, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

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 Next, Trump plans to entrust Venezuela to those who cognize it well: the lipid men. With 303 cardinal barrels of reserves, Venezuela has much lipid than Saudi Arabia oregon immoderate different state successful the world. However, exports are paltry. Some of the lipid is hard to extract, and lipid accumulation infrastructure decayed nether socialism and Maduro. Consider the semipermanent vantage of U.S. concern and concern – and the strategical logic of Operation Absolute Resolve falls into place.

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Make nary mistake: Trump’s determination connected Venezuela goes acold beyond boosting lipid production. Venezuela is simply a important strategical chess portion successful what is shaping up to beryllium a decades-long, multipolar contention with China. In this planetary struggle, a free, prosperous Venezuela is simply a invaluable asset. Or it volition beryllium if Trump’s squad tin make that "proper, judicious transition" helium described astatine the Mar-a-Lago briefing. 

Trump wants Venezuela connected America’s side. 

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