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Seven U.S. service members were wounded in the operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro, a War Department official told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Five service members have already returned to duty and two are still recovering from surgery.
“They are receiving excellent medical care and are on the road to recovery,” the official said. “The fact that this extremely complex and grueling mission was executed successfully and with so few injuries is a testament to the expertise of our joint warfighters.”
On Saturday, service members landed in Caracas, Venezuela, during a secret mission to attack Venezuelan territory and capture Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, known as Operation Absolute Resolve. The mission was led by the Army's elite special operations unit, Delta Force.
Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is escorted as he heads toward the US Daniel Patrick Court in Manhattan for an initial appearance to face US federal charges including narcoterrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and others in New York City, US, on January 5, 2026. (Adam Gray/Reuters)
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Authorities said Tuesday that 24 Venezuelan security officials were killed during the raid, along with 32 Cuban military and police officers, who were responsible for protecting Maduro.
Venezuelan officials have claimed that the operation also killed civilians, but those claims have not been independently verified.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Trump ordered the “apprehension mission” on Friday night, and it involved 150 aircraft, including B-1 Lancer bombers and helicopters from 20 bases.
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US intelligence officials had reportedly tracked Maduro's whereabouts for months before the operation.
President Donald Trump shared a photo of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro captured aboard the USS Iwo Jima after the attacks on Venezuela, January 3, 2026. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
Smoke rises from a dock after explosions were heard in the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after the United States launched attacks on Caracas. (Matías Delacroix/The Associated Press)
A helicopter was hit during the operation, which began at 2:10 a.m. local time and lasted about two and a half hours, but was still able to fly.
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At the same time, a US cyberattack had rendered much of Caracas, Venezuela powerless, leaving the city and its lines of communication in the dark.
Maduro and his wife were flown to New York to face federal drug trafficking and narcoterrorism charges.
