How the military operation to capture Maduro unfolded

The U.S. military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicol s Maduro came after months of planning and launched only when a break in bad weather on...

The U.S. military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro came after months of planning and launched only when a break in bad weather on Friday night granted U.S. aviators a path into the capital, Caracas, according to the Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. Maduro and his wife were taken from a fortified compound after both tried to reach the steel door of a safe room, President Donald Trump said Saturday. The raid was condemned by numerous countries, including some U.S. allies, and a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary General António Guterres called it "a dangerous precedent.”

Though much remains unknown about how the events unfolded, an account given Saturday by Caine and a review of visuals by The Washington Post identified several key moments and locations in the operation.

Months ago

According to Caine, planning for the operation to take Maduro began months ago and involved coordination among every branch of the armed forces, as well as U.S. intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The Post previously reported that the U.S. deployed two Army Delta Force units in recent weeks to establish a "pattern of life” on Maduro in advance of the operation, mapping out his location and daily movements, according to a person familiar with that deployment. Delta Force, known within the clandestine community as Combat Applications Group, is among the Pentagon’s most elite units, tasked with executing high-stakes and secretive missions, including hostage rescue and kill-and-capture missions.