U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth lauded a bold and highly complex military operation this week that led to the capture and transport of Venezuela’s indicted leader, Nicolás Maduro, underscoring what he described as the restored dominance and effectiveness of America’s armed forces under the Trump administration.

The operation, code-named “Operation Absolute Resolve,” took place in the early morning hours of January 3, 2026, when U.S. special operations units conducted a carefully planned raid on Maduro’s fortified compound in Caracas. Senior U.S. officials confirmed the precision of the mission, executed with extensive intelligence and coordination, that resulted in Maduro and his wife being taken into custody and subsequently transported to New York to face longstanding federal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking allegations. 

Standing before reporters, Hegseth praised the operation’s execution and the skill of the forces involved. He asserted that American military capabilities allowed U.S. forces to reach and extract Maduro from his compound with a level of secrecy and speed that kept Venezuelan defenses unaware until moments before the raid commenced. In Hegseth’s view, no other military on Earth could have accomplished such a feat with the same precision and minimal risk to U.S. personnel.

News coverage indicates that the mission was the culmination of months of planning and involved elite Army special operations units supported by air and naval forces. U.S. commandos entered Caracas at night, overcame resistance from Maduro’s security forces, and secured the suspects without reported U.S. fatalities. The detainees were then flown to a U.S. detention facility in New York where they have since appeared in federal court and entered pleas contesting the charges. 

Hegseth used the success of the Maduro extraction to contrast current U.S. military posture against past periods perceived by some as less decisive. He framed the operation as evidence of renewed American strength, operational precision, and strategic resolve under the Trump administration. His comments reflect a broader narrative promoted by top U.S. officials that the United States is ready and capable to act decisively when national security and counter-narco-terrorism objectives demand it.

The operation has drawn intense international attention and debate, with supporters lauding U.S. military professionalism and critics questioning the legal and diplomatic implications of such an intervention on sovereign territory. Regardless of the broader geopolitical conversation, Hegseth’s remarks emphasize a message of American military superiority and operational excellence in the execution of complex missions abroad.