Inside America’s Secret Operation to Take Down Maduro

Karacas, Venezuela, January 3rd, 2026. 2:01 a. m.

You're watching a man sleep peacefully in his bed. Nicholas Maduro, age 63. His wife, Celia Flores, lies beside him, both deep asleep.

This man once drove buses in Caracus, picked up passengers, listened to their complaints. Ordinary working man. Now he rules Venezuela.

12 years in power. 7 million people fled his regime. 125 protesters killed under his orders.

1,793 political prisoners in his jails. One of the most dangerous dictators alive today. Sleeping soundly in Fort Tuna military complex, presidential compound, most fortified location in Venezuela.

Outside his bedroom window, 3,000 soldiers. Russian-made BU book M2E air defense missiles, radar systems, security cameras, steel reinforced safe room down the hallway. Maduro believes he's untouchable.

He's wrong. Right now, 150 American aircraft are 30 minutes from Caracus. F-22 Raptors, F-35 Lightning stealth fighters, B52 Stratofortress bombers, EA18G Growler electronic warfare jets, MH60 Blackhawk helicopters carrying Delta Force operators, all converging on this bedroom, on this sleeping man.

5 months ago, CIA inserted a team into Venezuela. They've been watching Maduro every day since August. They know his schedule down to the minute.

They know he eats breakfast at 7:00 a. m. , meets his cabinet at 9:00 a.

m. , sleeps by 11 p. m.

They even know his pets names. Two months ago, they recruited a source inside his government. Someone with access to his calendar, his location, his security details, realtime intelligence.

One week ago, Donald Trump called Maduro's private line. Short conversation, direct message. You got to surrender.

Leave Venezuela. We'll let you go to a third country. This is your last chance.

>> Maduro almost took the deal. He was scared. American warships surrounded his coast.

The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group. Destroyers, submarines, the largest naval force ever assembled off South America.

But his generals convinced him to stay. >> Mr President, they won't dare invade. This is Venezuelan soil.

The Americans are bluffing. >> Maduro believed them. Fatal mistake.

Now it's 2:00 a. m. The attack begins.

Seven massive explosions shake Caracus simultaneously. La Carlo air base, Port of Laguara, Higuroda airport. Three military communication towers.

Fort Tuna air defense battery. American bombers flying at 40,000 ft. Precisiong guided munitions.

Each target destroyed in seconds. The presidential compound loses power. Lights cut out.

Backup generators don't activate. US Cyber Command disabled them remotely 10 seconds before the strikes. Darkness everywhere.

Chaos. Confusion. The Book M2e air defense system that was supposed to protect Maduro obliterated.

A single Jam bomb. Venezuela's primary defense gone before Maduro even wakes up. He wakes now.

Massive explosion. So loud the windows rattle. Compound shaking like an earthquake.

For 3 seconds he lies there confused, disoriented. Then he understands. Americans.

They actually did it. His bedroom door bursts open. Presidential guards rushing in.

Flashlight sweeping. Panic in their voices. Maduro jumps from bed.

Celia screaming. He's wearing pajamas. No time to dress.

No time for anything. Maduro runs barefoot down the marble hallway. Safe room is 50 ft away.

Steel door. Reinforced walls. Communications equipment.

He just needs to reach it. Outside. He hears new sounds.

Not explosions anymore. Something else. Rhythmic.

Getting louder. Helicopters. Not his helicopters.

American helicopters. Four. MH60M Blackhawks from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the Nightstalkers.

They've been flying for 40 minutes, skimming 100 ft above the Caribbean Sea under radar coverage. Invisible, they crossed into Venezuelan airspace 15 minutes ago. Flew inland at treetop level, dodging power lines using night vision.

Perfect navigation. Now they're here. Directly above the presidential compound, Venezuelan soldiers on the ground open fire.

AK47s, machine guns, desperate defensive fire. The Blackhawks door gunners respond. M134 miniguns.

6,000 rounds per minute, suppressing fire. Overwhelming firepower. One helicopter takes hits.

Bullets punch through the fuselage. Hydraulic fluid spraying, but the pilot maintains control. Mission continues.

Inside the presidential compound, Maduro is 30 feet from the safe room, 20 feet, 10 feet. He hears different sounds now. Above him on the roof, ropes hitting the ground, boots landing.

Delta Force operators fast roping down. 12 men, the most elite soldiers in the American military. They've trained for this mission for 2 months.

Practiced on a full-scale replica of this exact compound. They know the layout better than Maduro's own guards. Every room, every hallway, every door, every lock.

With them, FBI hostage rescue team agents. Their job, make the arrest legal under US law. Turn a military raid into a lawful apprehension of a federal fugitive.

Maduro 5 ft from the safe room door. His hand reaches for the handle behind him. His bedroom door explodes inward, breaching charge, dead cord, controlled detonation, smoke, flash, concussive blast.

Three Delta Force operators rush through. Suppressed weapons up, laser targeting, night vision goggles. They see Maduro in the hallway.

Hand on door, frozen. 3 seconds, that's all it takes. First operator tackles him.

Maduro hits the marble floor face first. Second operator on him immediately. Hands wrenched behind his back.

Flex cuffs zip tied tight. Celia Flores screaming. Third operator secures her.

Same procedure. Zip tied on the ground. Nicholas Maduro, you are under arrest by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of narot terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and weapons trafficking against the United States.

English words, American accent, in his bedroom, in his compound, in Venezuela, in his own country. Impossible. This doesn't happen.

Presidents don't get arrested like common criminals. Not in their homes, not in their beds. But it's happening.

Venezuelan guards in the hallway watching. Weapons lowered. Not shooting.

Too shocked. Too overwhelmed. Too outmatched.

6 hours later, Donald Trump posts a photograph on Truth Social. Shows Maduro sitting on the ship. Defeated.

Captured. Prisoner. Caption.

Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Ewima. from presidential compound to prisoner of war in three hours. But this story doesn't start tonight.

It starts 63 years ago with a baby born in a Karaca slum. A boy who would grow up to drive buses, then enter politics, then become dictator, then lose everything in a single night. How does a bus driver become one of the world's most brutal dictators?

How does a dictator end up captured in his own bedroom? Rewind 63 years. November 1962.

Baby boy born in a Karaca slum. Nicholas Maduro. Workingclass family.

Poor but stable. Father teaches him. The system is rigged.

Rich exploit workers. Socialism is the answer. Late 1980s.

Nicholas becomes a bus driver. Route 43 through Caracus. Talks to passengers.

hears complaints about government, corruption, harder lives. He understands because he is them. Common people.

February 1992. Everything changes. Army officer Hugo Chavez leads a military coup.

Wants revolution. Coup fails. Chavez arrested.

But during arrest, Chavez appears on TV. Says, "For now, we have not achieved our objectives. " >> For now, not we failed, just for now.

A promise. Those two words electrify Venezuela. Maduro watches, still in his bus driver uniform.

Something ignites. This Chavez speaks for us. Maduro joins the movement immediately.

While Chavez is in prison, Maduro organizes the streets, recruiting, building support. 1994. The government pardons Chavez.

He builds a political party. Revolution through ballots. Maduro is there.

Loyal worker driving people to rallies in his bus. 1998 Chavez wins the presidency. 56% landslide.

The Bolivarian Revolution begins. Chavez remembers loyalty. Appoints Maduro to the National Assembly.

Bus driver to lawmaker overnight. 2006. Promotes him minister of foreign affairs.

Maduro isn't qualified. not an experienced diplomat. But Chavez doesn't care.

He only wants loyalty. For 6 years, Maduro watches Chavez, studies him, learns how he controls media, crushes opposition, maintains power through oil wealth. Maduro learns every lesson.

2012, Chavez gets cancer, dying. Who takes over? Chavez has experienced politicians, military officers, capable leaders.

Who does he choose? October 2012. If I die, elect Nicholas Maduro.

Everyone is shocked. Why the bus driver? Why not someone competent?

Answer is simple. Chavez wants loyalty, not competence. Loyalty over competence.

This will destroy Venezuela. April 2013, election. Maduro wins barely 50.

6% to 49. 1% just a 1. 5% margin.

Opposition cries fraud. Maduro refuses a recount. Takes office.

But everyone knows he won because Chavez told them to. Reflected glory. Weak president.

Contested president. Lucky president. Economy collapsing.

Oil prices falling. Maduro has no idea how to fix anything. What does he know?

What did Chavez teach? How to maintain power through force? How to crush opposition?

How to survive at any cost? That's exactly what he's about to do. Maduro takes power in 2013.

Everything falls apart immediately. Oil prices crash. Venezuela depends on oil for everything.

Economy collapses. Supermarkets empty. Medicine unavailable.

Electricity failing daily. Venezuelans protest. Students, middle class, everyone demanding change.

Maduro's response. Blame America. Blame opposition.

Never blame himself. By February the next year, protests grow massive. Maduro orders crackdown.

Military in streets. Tear gas. Force.

Result: 43 dead, 800 injured, thousands arrested, opposition leaders jailed, judges fired, media shut down, Maduro learns. Opposition is threat, control is everything. The following year brings legislative elections.

Opposition wins super majority, first time in 16 years. Disaster for Maduro. They can investigate corruption.

Can impeach him. His solution? Create fake legislature.

Constituent Assembly only his supporters declares it supreme authority over real elected assembly. Legal? No.

Constitutional? No. Does it matter?

No. He has military has power. Democracy over.

Dictatorship begins. Two years later, protests return. Bigger, angrier.

4 months straight. Spring through summer. Hundreds of thousands daily.

Maduro responds with force. Security forces deployed nationwide. Final toll, 125 dead, 5,000 injured, 5,000 arrested.

International criminal court opens investigation. Crimes against humanity still ongoing today. Maduro survives.

Lesson learned. This works. Meanwhile, Venezuelans fleeing.

Millions fleeing. By the time we reach 2024, 7 million are gone. One in four.

Largest migration crisis in hemisphere. Doctors leaving. Engineers leaving.

Everyone seeking better life. Those who stay suffer. Hyperinflation astronomical.

Currency worthless. Food shortages. Humanitarian crisis.

But Maduro fine. Officials fine. Living comfortably while country struggles.

3 years earlier the United States indicted him. Narot terrorism. Drg trafficking.

$50 million reward. Maduro dismisses it. He's safe in Venezuela, protected, untouchable.

He thinks after 10 years in power, country is in crisis, but he's still there. Now, an election is coming. July 28th.

Opposition unites behind Edmundo Gonzalez. Former diplomat, respected figure. Opposition campaigns hard.

Large rallies. Hundreds of thousands. Real hope.

Real energy. Independent polls clear. Gonzalez winning.

20 30 point margins. Some say more. Maduro knows.

His advisers know. Everyone knows he's losing. Question.

Will he accept it? Respect democracy, step down peacefully after 12 years comfortable in power. Answer is no.

Because leaving office means losing protection. Losing protection means facing consequences. As election day approaches, Maduro isn't preparing to accept results.

He's preparing to steal. Election day arrives. July 28th, 2024.

At 6:00 in the morning, polls open across Venezuela. Lines form immediately. Venezuelans wait for hours.

They're determined. This time, change feels possible. The opposition has prepared.

Thousands of poll watchers at every voting center, watching everything, recording everything. Throughout the day, numbers look good. Really good.

Their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, is winning. Not close. winning big 2 to1 margin, maybe more.

Polls close at 6:00 p. m. The electronic voting machines print tally sheets, physical paper receipts showing results.

The opposition collects these sheets from 85% of voting centers. Over 25,000 sheets total representing 80% of all votes cast. They count them, double check them, triple check them.

The results are clear. Gonzalez 67%, Maduro 30%, overwhelming victory. documented victory.

Undeniable victory. The opposition starts preparing celebrations. After 11 years, finally change is coming.

Democracy is returning. Then midnight arrives. Elvis Amaroso appears on television.

He's the Electoral Council president. Government loyalist. Maduro's puppet.

He reads a statement. >> Nicholas Maduro has won the election. 51.

2% to 44. 2%. >> Complete lie.

the exact opposite of reality. The opposition erupts. Maria Corina Machado goes on camera, shows the tally sheets, the real results, physical proof.

>> This is fraud. We have the documentation. We won by millions of votes.

>> But Amaroso refuses to provide detailed counts. Claims there was a cyber attack preventing him from releasing the data. Obviously false.

Convenient excuse. Maduro appears on television, declares victory. He knows he lost.

Everyone knows he lost. But he has the military. He has the guns.

He has the power. The next morning, the opposition publishes everything online. All 25,000 tally sheets scanned, uploaded.

Anyone can verify. Venezuelans pour into the streets. Not thousands, hundreds of thousands.

Every city, every town. They know they won. They have proof.

Their votes were stolen. Some protesters topple statues of Hugo Chavez. Decades of rage exploding.

Maduro's response is immediate and brutal. Military deployed. National Guard.

Police. They open fire on protesters. Over 2 weeks.

25 people are killed, hundreds injured, thousands arrested. By September, nearly 1,800 political prisoners. The highest number in 21st century.

Most arrested after the election. Many are teenagers charged with terrorism. No trials.

Early September, an arrest warrant is issued for Gonzalez. The charges: usurppation of functions, forgery, translation. He won the election and dared to say so.

Gonzalez goes into hiding. A week later, he flees to the Spanish embassy, then to Spain. Asylum granted.

The legitimate winner forced into exile. While the thief keeps the palace. In November, Trump wins the US presidential election, returns to the White House, second term.

Donald Trump is watching and planning and preparing. Maduro's luck is about to run out. August 2025, 6 months after Maduro stole the election, CIA director briefs Trump.

We can get him. We just need authorization. Trump doesn't hesitate.

Do it. CIA team infiltrates Venezuela. Their mission, track Maduro, document everything, his routine, his security, his vulnerabilities.

They find someone inside Maduro's government. Highle official. Access to everything.

He betrays his boss. Provides real-time intelligence. September.

US Southern Command strikes boats in Caribbean. Pressure building. November.

USS Gerald R. Ford arrives. America's newest super carrier.

Message to Maduro. We're coming. December.

Coast Guard seizes Venezuelan oil tankers. Naval blockade. CIA strikes inside Venezuela.

Drne attack. Warning shot. We can reach you anywhere.

Late December. Trump calls Maduro. Surrender now.

Last chance. Maduro almost does. He's scared, but his generals convince him to stay.

Promise military will protect him. Promise Fort Tuna is impregnable. They're wrong.

Trump approves operation absolute resolve. Elite forces train on replica compound. 150 aircraft positioned.

Everything ready. Waiting for weather. Storms delay operation.

January 2nd, 2026. Weather breaks. 10:46 p.

m. Trump gives final order. Execute.

What happens next? You already know the explosions, the helicopters, Delta Force breaching the compound. Maduro 5 ft from his safe room.

Too late. Captured. Now you're watching something different.

USS Ewokima, Caribbean Sea. Dawnbreaking. Maduro sits in a holding cell, gray Navy tracksuit, hand secured.

24 hours ago he was president sleeping in his palace protected by thousands. Now he's a prisoner on an American warship heading north. He thinks about the journey.

Bus driver to dictator to prisoner. 63 years all leading here. He wanted power.

Stole elections for it. Killed protesters for it. Destroyed his country for it.

7 million Venezuelans fled. Thousands tortured. all so he could stay in control.

Was it worth it? Nobody knows. But one thing is certain.

Nicholas Maduro's rule is over. The bus driver who became dictator will spend his remaining years in an American prison. Power corrupts.

And when corrupted power falls, it falls hard.