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Monday, Jan 05, 2026
Outside the box.
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Elite American commandos carried out a rare deep-penetration mission in Caracas that led to Nicolás Maduro’s arrest and removal to United States custody
The United States operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was carried out by Delta Force, the elite American special operations unit regarded as uniquely capable of executing such a mission.
According to the account, the decision to deploy Delta Force was driven by the exceptional risk, complexity, and political sensitivity of penetrating deep into Caracas to seize a sitting head of state.
The operation reportedly involved a rapid airborne assault into the Venezuelan capital, with Delta Force teams inserted by Black Hawk helicopters supported by Chinook aircraft.
The mission culminated in the detention of Maduro and his wife, who were removed from Venezuelan territory and transferred to the United States, where Maduro is expected to face trial.
No detailed operational briefing has been released, and several tactical aspects of the mission remain undisclosed.
Delta Force, formally known as the First Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta, has a long history of executing high-risk missions in hostile environments.
Its past operations include the removal of Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega in nineteen eighty-nine, the attempted capture of Somali militia leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid during the Battle of Mogadishu in nineteen ninety-three, the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in two thousand three, and the operation that led to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria in two thousand nineteen.
The unit is also widely known through popular culture, including films such as The Delta Force and Black Hawk Down, which dramatized its role in Mogadishu and cemented its association with Black Hawk helicopters and high-intensity urban combat.
Despite this visibility, Delta Force remains one of the most secretive units in the United States military, with most of its missions never publicly acknowledged.
While many details surrounding the Caracas operation remain unclear, the use of Delta Force underscores the extraordinary nature of the mission and marks one of the most consequential direct U.S. actions in Latin America in decades.
According to the account, the decision to deploy Delta Force was driven by the exceptional risk, complexity, and political sensitivity of penetrating deep into Caracas to seize a sitting head of state.
The operation reportedly involved a rapid airborne assault into the Venezuelan capital, with Delta Force teams inserted by Black Hawk helicopters supported by Chinook aircraft.
The mission culminated in the detention of Maduro and his wife, who were removed from Venezuelan territory and transferred to the United States, where Maduro is expected to face trial.
No detailed operational briefing has been released, and several tactical aspects of the mission remain undisclosed.
Delta Force, formally known as the First Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta, has a long history of executing high-risk missions in hostile environments.
Its past operations include the removal of Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega in nineteen eighty-nine, the attempted capture of Somali militia leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid during the Battle of Mogadishu in nineteen ninety-three, the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in two thousand three, and the operation that led to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria in two thousand nineteen.
The unit is also widely known through popular culture, including films such as The Delta Force and Black Hawk Down, which dramatized its role in Mogadishu and cemented its association with Black Hawk helicopters and high-intensity urban combat.
Despite this visibility, Delta Force remains one of the most secretive units in the United States military, with most of its missions never publicly acknowledged.
While many details surrounding the Caracas operation remain unclear, the use of Delta Force underscores the extraordinary nature of the mission and marks one of the most consequential direct U.S. actions in Latin America in decades.
