Trump to meet US Special Forces behind Maduro capture

US President Donald Trump is set to meet on Friday with the special forces soldiers who carried out the January operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

The White House confirmed that First Lady Melania Trump will accompany the president to Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina, where they will greet the troops and their families.

The operation, conducted on January 3, involved US forces launching coordinated air strikes on Venezuelan military targets before deploying special forces by helicopter under cover of darkness. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized from a heavily guarded compound in Caracas during the raid.

Venezuelan officials said the assault resulted in 83 deaths and more than 112 injuries. No US service members were reported killed during the mission.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president and first lady would “meet with military families and the heroic members of our special forces who carried out the successful ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ in Venezuela and helped bring narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro to justice.”

Maduro is currently being held in the United States, where he faces charges including drug trafficking and other related offences. He has pleaded not guilty. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 17 in New York.

Following Maduro’s removal, Trump approved former vice president Delcy Rodriguez to assume leadership, on the condition that she meets US demands regarding oil access and the easing of state repression.

The president has repeatedly described the mission as a demonstration of American military strength and Washington’s influence in the region.

At a January rally in Iowa, Trump praised the operation as “spectacular,” commending what he described as an exceptionally talented and patriotic team.

He has also referenced a classified capability he dubbed the “discombobulator,” claiming it was used to disable Venezuelan equipment during the operation.

“I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump said in a recent NBC News interview. “But let me just tell you, you know what it does? None of their equipment works. Everything was discombobulated.”