On February 3rd, six Iran patrol boats approached a U.S. flagged oil tanker operating in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to board it.
The M/V ‘Stenna Imperative’ was approached by six small gunboats, armed with .50 caliber machine guns, owned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) and an Iranian Mohajer Drone. At the time the tanker was approximately 16 miles North of the coast of Oman, according to maritime tracking data. It had already passed through the Strait of Hormuz when contacted by the gunboats.
Approximate location of the ahip when the incident occurred.
The gunboats attempted to contact the tanker by radio, ordering the ship to “stop the engines and prepare to be boarded.” The ship responded by increasing engine power and maintaining its course. The U.S. navy responded by ordering the USS Mcfaul, a Guided missile destroyer to respond. The destroyer escorted the ship out of the area, with the aid of two F-16’s and the ship continued on its course to Bahrain.
The M/T Stenna Imperative is a civilian tanker but also certified to carry out operations for the U.S. navy. Most importantly, This means the ship is authorized to carry out transferring fuel to underway naval ships through abeam refueling. This fusion of military and civilian operations helps the navy fill a gap in its gray-hulled military replenishment fleet.
US Central Command confirmed the incident with the patrol boats came several hours after the U.S. forces shot down an Iranian Shahed-129 drone that came too close to the Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN- 72) while the ship was sailing in international waters in the Arabian Sea. Captain Tim Hawkins said the drone came “aggressively close” to the carrier even after the U.S. forces took “de-escalatory measures”.
“CENTCOM forces are operating at the highest level of professionalism and ensuring the safety of US personnel, ships, and aircraft in the Middle East.” Said Capt. Tim Hawkins “ Continued Iranian Harassment and threats in international waters and airspace will not be tolerated. Iran’s unnecessary aggression near U.S. forces, regional partners and commercial vessels increases risk of collisions, miscalculation, and regional destabilization.”
The U.S. has built a sizable presence in the region, especially near Iran with what president Trump calls a “massive armada”. The military has sent these forces to the region under the president’s direction with the possibility for military strikes into Iran in response to a brutal crackdown on Iranian regime protesters. Thousands have been believed to have been killed by regime forces since the start of the protest.
Negotiations have been ongoing between the United States and Iran however little progress has been made.
A week after the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG) was redirected from the South China Sea the warships arrived in the Arabian Sea. US Central Command (US CENTCOM) confirmed the redeployment of the ship to the Middle East on social media on the 26th of January and located the ship as being somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
Sailors aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) perform routine maintenance as the aircraft carrier sails in the Indian Ocean, Jan. 26. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability. pic.twitter.com/dkuN946hce
The Carrier Strike Group was dispatched to the region by the U.S. President Donald Trump after he made warning threats to Iran to stop their crackdown on anti-regime protests. The regime’s security forces have opened fire on protesters resulting in thousands of deaths according to human rights watch groups. The carrier strike group that’s moving into the region is made up of the USS Abraham Lincoln as well as three Arleigh Burke-Class Guided Missile Destroyers (as well as a suspected Fast-Attack submarine that would usually accompany a CSG).
“We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely.” Donald Trump to reporters aboard Air Force One.
While it’s unclear how long the CSG will remain in the region irs addition to the forces slowly building in the region enhances the striking capabilities of the United States.
This map, posted by Twitter user and INDOPAC expert @IanEllisJones shows all of the forces that have been recently moved to the Middle East/CENTCOM region. This map only shows what has been reported publicly and focuses mostly on air and sea assets of CENTCOM and nearby involved units in EUCOM. Both US Commands have a large pool of ground forces however their involvement in any potential strikes on Iran would be minimal if any at all.
USS Frank E Peterson, JR sails alongside the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean.
Starting off let’s look closer at the newest addition to the region, the USS Abraham Lincoln and it’s CSG. The carrier is escorted by three Arleigh Burke-Class Guided Missile Destroyers. The USS Frank E Peterson, JR. (DDG 121) operating as the Air Defense Commander. This ship integrates all the radar and defense systems of the other ships and takes charge during an attack on the ship being able to remotely use the other connected ships systems to detect, track and destroy incoming air and missile threats to the CSG. The other two destroyers make up Destroyer Squadron (DESRON)21, the USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), and the USS Spruance (DDG-111). These ships are going to carry a variety of anti-ship, air, and ground attack missiles. The map has them all three carrying 32 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM’s) a piece. That number is just an estimate, the ships true loadout won’t be known but I don’t think 96 TLAM’s for the whole CSG is too far outside of the realm of possibility.
USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112)
The destroyers carry a variety of missiles but a typical loadout for a flight II and up Arleigh Burke goes something like this.
Lastly, any carrier strike group is likely to be escorted by at least one of the Navy’s fast attack sub’s. These submarines are usually not brought up in any sort of reporting or public releases from the navy but we know the carriers almost always have one nearby just for anti-submarine work as well as their ability to strike ground targets using TLAM’s.
Virginia-Class Submarine
Looking specifically at the carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The deck and hangar of the ship is filled with Carrier Air Wing 9 (CVW-9). The current list of squadrons and aircraft is as follows.
CVW-9 aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The “Tophatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, flying F/A-18E Super Hornet multirole fighter jets.
The “Black Aces” of VFA 41, flying F/A-18FSuper Hornet multirole fighter jets.
The “Vigilantes” of VFA 151, flying F/A-18E Super Hornets multirole fighter jets.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 151, launches from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) while conducting routine flight operations in the Arabian Sea. Abraham Lincoln is deployed to support security and stability within the Middle East region. – CENTCOM Social Media post January 30th 2026.
The “Black Knights” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 flying F-35C Lightning II’s.
F-35C from the “Black Knights“ of VFMA 314.
The “Wizards” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133, flying EA-18G Growler Electronic Warfare Aircraft.
EA-18G Growler from VAQ 133 jumping from the Abraham Lincoln back in 2024. These recently received the upgraded ALQ-249 Next-Generation Jammer (NGJ) pods.
The “Wallbangers” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 117 flying E-2D Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning aircraft.
The “Titans” of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 30 (VRM-30) CMV-22B Osprey Multiuse Tiltrotor aircraft.
The “Raptors” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71, flying MH-60R Seahawk Helicopters.
MH-60R Seahawk (HSM-71 / CVW-9) aboard USS Spruance (DDG 111) – July 2024
The “Chargers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 14 flying MH-60S Seahawk Helicopters.
These squadrons give the USS Abraham Lincoln its main offensive capability as well as add some flexibility to any strike plans, and add support for the whole ship. The F/A-18’s especially are capable of carrying and deploying a wide array of munitions, making them one of the most versatile multirole jets in operation. Able to carry a variety of munitions like the JDAM’s, Small Diameter Bombs, as well as rockets, anti-ship, and anti-radar missiles. These multi-role titans, aided by the stealthy F-35c and the Electronic Warfare capabilities of the EA-18G you would be hard pressed to find a job this carrier air wing couldn’t handle.
The weapons able to be deployed by the Super Hornet.
Now looking back at the map from Mr. Ellis. Multiple sources have confirmed the 37 F-15E Strike Eagles arriving into Jordan. CENTCOM themselves released images showing their arrival into the midddle east.
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron lands at a base in the Middle East, Jan. 18. The F-15's presence enhances combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability. pic.twitter.com/QTXgOsOozV
The post does give a location but the location was geolocated fairly quickly to the Muwaffaq Salti Air base in Jordan. The map mentions a number of A-10’s being present at that base and while evidence exists of their presence in the Middle East, the exact location is unknown. Elsewhere in the CENTCOM AOR is a squad of F-16’s originally from Aviano AB. The map also shows the large number of F-35’s and F-15’s currently stationed in the UK which could be used if any strikes are carried out in Iran.
Several more ships are operating in the Persian gulf area. USS Mitscher (DDG-57) and USS McFaul (DDG-74), are both operating independently in the region. Littoral Combat Ships USS Canberra (LCS-30), USS Tulsa (LCS-16) and USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) are additionally operating with a mine countermeasure mission package. The newest addition is USS Delbert Black (DDG-119) which was reported entering the Red Sea today.
USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) is close by, operating in the Mediterranean but could quickly be called to action.
Much of this map shows assets not exactly in theater but very nearby, assets that could very quickly be moved if need be. On top of all of this you have the U.S. Air Force bomber fleet which can be anywhere in the world in less than 24 hours.
This map above, posted by investigative research user Defensegeek shows flight movements for the past couple days. The map shows recent arrivals of not only strike fighters, but logistics and recon assets as well.
As of the conclusion of this article on the 29th, reports are starting to circulate that the White House is now deciding what to do about Iran. A media outlet based in London, Iran international is claiming that a joint U.S./Israel will be carried out with the intent of completely collapsing the current Iranian government and that only the timing is being considered at this stage. President Trumps himself, on January 30th claimed that he directly laid out a deadline for some sort of agreement between the US and Iran.
This is a continuing story and will be covered here fully by GCR.
Today French forces seized a Russian “shadow fleet” tanker that was sailing in the Mediterranean. The vessel, an oil tanker flagged from Comoros called ‘Grinch’ (IMO:9288851) was seized in the Alboran Sea, in the Western Mediterranean. The Grinch was boarded on suspicion of flying a false flag, as well as being under international sanctions.
French investigators onboard the Grinch.
The operation was carried out in partnership with UK forces who provided intelligence.
“The operation was conducted on the high seas in the Mediterranean, with the support of several of our allies. It was carried out in strict compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said after the Grinch was seized.
He also said
“We are determined to uphold international law and to ensure the effective enforcement of sanctions,” Macron explained. “The activities of the ‘shadow fleet’ contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The operation was first announced with a press release from the French Navy
French Navy press release translated below.
“On January 22, 2026, French Navy assets intervened on the high seas, in the Alboran Sea, on the cargo tanker GRINCH, en route from Murmansk, Russia.
Conducted on the basis of Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, this operation aimed to verify the nationality of a vessel suspected of flying a false flag.
After the boarding team, the examination of the documents confirmed the doubts regarding the validity of the flag being flown. A report was filed with the Public Prosecutor in Marseille, who has jurisdiction under the maritime court
In accordance with international law and at the request of the public prosecutor, the vessel was diverted on January 22 and is currently being escorted by French Navy vessels to an anchorage for further investigations.
This action, carried out in cooperation with our allies, including the United Kingdom, illustrates the unwavering commitment and determination of France and its partners to uphold international law.”
End translation.
Last recorded position of the Grinch.
The “shadow fleet” operated by Russia has received a lot of attention in the past,but even more so in the past couple months as both European and U.S. forces have seized multiple vessels suspected of being used to transport Russian oil. These ships are know for using clandestine means and “deceptive shipping practices” to bypass international sanctions put on Russia for its war in Ukraine.
These ships, while called a “shadow” or “dark” fleet operate in the open, with multinational crews (sometimes even carrying Ukrainian crews) using aging ships with many of them being bought for exorbitant prices from the same western nations that sanction Russia in the first place . These ships will use techniques like changing their name and flag to avoid tracking by investigators and law enforcement.
Western powers are taking a stronger stance against Russia’s shadow fleet and Russia is responding, on Monday Russia sent the Project 20380 Steregushchiy-class corvette Boikiy to escort one of its tankers through the English Channel.
Project 20380 Steregushchiy-class corvette Boikiy
The UK especially has signaled its willingness to step up the fight against these ships, specificly as a joint effort. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper saying to Politico “We stand ready to work with allies on stronger enforcement around the shadow fleet,”
She also didn’t rule out using the oil seized from these tankers to support Ukrainian war efforts. This gives Russia two choices, risk having their oil money being used to find their enemies or having their oil storage depots sit full. Neither option is ideal especially as Ukraine continues to target Russian oil depots with drones and missiles.
It’s possible that western actions against Russia’s shadow fleet could become a large flashpoint between Russia and western nations, especially if Russia responds to increased pressure with force, bringing the two sides to conflict.
Satellites images taken over the weekend show the USS Abraham Lincoln turning West, turning away from the Indi-Pacific and headings towards the Middle East.
By. Scott Jackson
01/20/2026
Several days ago the USS Abraham Lincoln(CVN 72) along with its Carrier Strike Group(CSG) which had most recently been sailing in the South China Sea, turned West, reportedly, with new orders- to sail to the Middle East. The ship and her escorts will join the US Fifth Fleet and conduct operations in the strategically and geopolitically important waterways of the Middle East.
Currently the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is made up of destroyers USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (DDG-121), USS Spruance (DDG-111) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112). The carrier embarked with the air power of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr.USS Spruance (DDG-111)USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112)
Late on Sunday (about 11:00 pm local time) the carrier was spotted entering the Malacca Strait which can be seen In the photo below, posted by USNI the ship was caught sailing past Singapore at about midnight. By Monday the carrier’s AIS data showed it was on the last stretch of the Malacca Strait before the Indian Ocean.
The dark shape of the USS Abraham Lincoln as it looked sailing through Singapore, in its way through rk mm
There are currently no U.S. aircraft carriers in the Middle East and right now there are only two CSG’s deployed at all- the Abraham Lincoln CSG heading towards the Middle East and the Gerald R. Ford CSG which has been operating in the Caribbean.
Last known position of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
GCR as well as other media outlets have reached out to the Pentagon as well as the Navy for confirmation, but we’ve received no statement back at the time of writing.
The instability in the region since 2024 has three times now caused a carrier strike group to be rerouted from the Indo-pacific region to the Middle East. USS Abraham Lincoln in 2024 and the USS Nimitz CSG last June.
The USS Abraham Lincoln will reach the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in roughly 5-6 days. Tensions in the area are the probable cause of this redeployment and shifting of forces, with instability and conflict in both Syria and Iran.
🇸🇾 #Syria: Drone footage shows the Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) drone unit, the “Martyr Haroun Units,” striking vehicles and dropping explosive payloads on militants from the Syrian Army (HTS) allegedly in the southern countryside of Hasakah. pic.twitter.com/RmNVp00UAz
Following protest being met with violence in Iran, the White House threatened military action against Iran with President Trump claiming “Help is on its way.”. Those protest have been ongoing in multiple cities around the country for several weeks now, and are often met with gunfire from the various Iranian security forces. In Syria, fighting between the regime and Kurdish SDF forces in the North has been ongoing for a time.
The redeployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln from the Indo-Pacific leaves only the forward deployed USS George Washington (CVN 73), currently undergoing maintenance in Yokosuka, Japan. It would take some time for the USS George Washington to be 6ready for sea as at the very least its carrier air wing would need to undergo carrier qualification training before being allowed to set sail.
The U.S. also has the Japan-based amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA-7) which is conducting patrols in the Indo-Pacific region as well as cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) and destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) according to USNI.
Tripoli (LHA-7)
Apart from naval movements, sharp eyed flight trackers noticed an increase in flights heading to US bases in the Middle East. In the last 24 hours at least a dozen US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles from the 48th Fighter Wing departed RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom and arrived at the Muwaffew Salti Air Base in Jordan. Four KC-135’s accompanied them. A number of C-17’s also reportedly departed from the UK and made their way to the Middle East.
F-15E Strike Eagle landing in Jordan, relesed this morning by US CENTCOM
On the morning of January 3rd, the U.S. launched a major operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Operation Absolute Resolve as it has come to be known took place mostly in the Caracas region however the U.S. carried out airstrikes elsewhere on certain regime military targets.
The strikes were carried out in the early morning hours of January 3rd when more than 200 special operations forces surged into Venezuela while aircraft and ships that had been gathering in the Caribbean for months conducted a number of precision airstrikes on (mostly) military targets around the Caracas area. The special forces, being flown by the helicopters of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment “Night stalkers” flew in, suppressed and destroyed enemy air defense and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
This attack was an operational success and caught the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela completely off guard. The defenders only managed to launch a handful of Igla shoulder mounted missiles which appear to have all missed. The helicopters used by the Night stalkers have a number of countermeasures against these types of weapons.
Full video of the Igla missile being fired from Fuerte Tiuna and the response from US helicopters.
Video en el que supuestamente se muestra el lanzamiento de un misil tierra-aire 9K38 «Igla» 🇻🇪 contra un helicóptero del 160 SOAR 🇺🇸 en Caracas. pic.twitter.com/n57Trc3fjq
After this the helicopters landed, special forces ground units found and secured Maduro and his wife after fighting through a reported 30 Cuban security guards. Maduro was transported to the USS Iwo Jima after this and from there he was transferred stateside.
Maduro perpwalk.
Since the morning of the strike GCR as well as many others have worked verify where some of the strikes took place and I’d like to go over the ones I’ve managed to verify as well as note any other information I have about them.
With geolocations,most of the time you will have a video and you want to find the location in took place. This case was no different, I had multiple videos and many of them had the same location shown . I also got very lucky in that some of the major networks has marked out strikes their teams had found on a map so I used one of those as an overview. I also grabbed satellite images from where ever I could, much of it is from the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), as well as released images from Planet labs and Vantor.
I found this map on the New York Times website which helped me narrow down locations of strikes making this process a lot quicker.
The Venezuelan air defense is made up of several systems but the one we will be talking about mainly today is the Buk series. The Buk is a family of self propelled, medium- range surface-to-air missile systems.
A Buk-M1-2 SAM system
It’s been reported in the days since the strike that none of the systems were hooked up to any sort of long- range detection radar and were only using their targeting radar which is very ineffective.
Former head of the CIA station in Venezuela Richard de la Torre, said that years of corruption, logistical problems, and the impact of international sanctions were the cause of the Venezuelan air defense network being in such a poor combat readiness state.
Moving on to the strikes.
Strikes on Aeropuerto airport.
(Number 1)
The first site I looked at was from the airport located in Higuerote. Images taken after the strikes show remains of what we believe were light airplanes and trucks that were used to block off access to the runway. Remains of a Buk air defense system command vehicle were also spotted.
Two strikes in the center are light the Buk and the light plane. The strike at the end of the runway is an unknown target. You can also see the light planes left on the runway in an attempt to stop US forces frim using this airport. A shot of the airport in Higuerote after the strikes.I believe this to be the remains of a BUK-M2E.For comparison.
Video of the BUK’s ammo cooking off after the strike was caught.
Possibly Higuerote was an Air Defense unit cooking off?
At la Carlota, the home of the General Command of the Bolivarian Military Aviation much like at Higuerote both serve a duel-role acting as civilian as well as military airports, Battle damage assessments indicate that only exposed air defense was targeted, while the hangers, runways and everything else remains intact and largely undamaged. Possibly trying to keep collateral damage to a minimum as the airport is surrounded by residential buildings on all sides.
At least three strikes on the La Carlota airport.Image shows the spot the Buk was filmed sitting in the days before the attack. A vehicle is clearly destroyed here.Two close-ups of the destroyed Buk. Note the bus visible in both images and satellite imagery.This spot, closer to the runway shows two clear impact marks.This image shows the same spot several days before the strikes. I believe these were the targets.
Satellite images from the day after the operation show all of the strikes hit in open areas and avoided targeting buildings. Open source data as well as satellite footage show that at least one BUK-M2E was targeted here, but possibly more.
Strike on El Hatillo Telecom antenna
(Number 3)
General location and close up before the strikes.
This telecommunications antenna was struck on January 3rd. This mixed with the electronic warfare we know were operating in the air would have likely knocked out most of not all communications in the area, causing confusion and preventing the military from coordinating a defense.
Directly after the strike.
Fort Tiuna
(4A-4C)
The next set of strikes targeted Fort Tiuna, the military base that housed Maduro and his wife on the night of the raid.
4a. Hit the what Google Earth has listed as the main entrance for the base. It’s also thought to be one of the entrances for the underground bunker built into the mountain.
BeforeAfter
4b. This shows the destruction of a building that appears to be used for storage of mikitary equipment. It’s proximity to the mountain is building could also be one of the entrance points for the bunker.
4c. This next one shows the destruction of a vehicle storage facility as well as another building claimed to be another entrance to the underground bunker.
This shows the after ahot of 4B (far left) and 4C (top and center)
Strike at the Port of La Guaria
(Number 5)
The strike on the port seems to have yet again targeted part of the Venezuelan air defense network as footage from the aftermath appears to show destroyed Buk systems. Several clips are taken in the direct aftermath of the strike and show the munitions of the AD system being ignited.
Las imágenes muestran un ataque estadounidense contra un objetivo en el puerto de La Guaira el 3 de enero que provocó la detonación de un sistema tierra-aire BUK y otras explosiones secundarias.
Pero el principal protagonista de la eliminación de las Defensas Antiaéreas fue la… pic.twitter.com/xTSvaELF4g
CSIS has a great analysis of this strike so I’ll share some of that here as well.
This next video, posted a claim that a warehouse at the port had been targeted because it contained medicines. The video actually proves it was targeted because a Buk launcher was set up between the warehouses, which was clearly the target as the warehouses survive the initial strike but are damaged during the secondary explosions from the missiles cooking off.
Misiles estadounidenses destruyeron almacenes de medicinas en el Puerto de La Guaira. El Gobernador Alejandro Terán muestra los daños causados. pic.twitter.com/acFtzveKz6
A post claiming the Mausoleum of Hugo Chávez had been hit with a U.S. airstrike.
This claim has been debunked by others as well as myself. The video is actually being recorded by a guy standing very close to the resting place of the former socialist revolutionary and president. The strike actually struck an observatory. The observatory houses the General Command of the Bolivarian Militia, a civilian volunteer military militia.
An image from Google earth showing where the location of the observatory as well as the mausoleum. Based on the angle of the video that was posted the person who took the video was standing only a couple hundred feet to the left of the mausoleum and likely knew its location. This post was misinformation put out specifically to make the U.S. look bad. Image from Reuters.
Air Defense position near the Naval academy.
(Number 7)
This strike targeted an area near the Naval Academy on the coast. This one, like many of the others targeted an area known to have been the location of air defense systems. Historical satellite imagery shows multiple Buk launchers stored here as well as buildings that housed additional launchers.
Red square shows the air defense position.
Images released in the aftermath of the attacks show that the buildings were housing additional Buk launchers.
These destroyed buildings match the ones from the satellite imagery.
A mistake.
(Number 8)
During the course of the operation the U.S. did an impressive job of protecting the civilians of the city. However evidence from the aftermath shows that a missile that was likely ment for the above air defense site target went off track and struck and apartment in Catia La Mar, killing an elderly lady by the name of Rosa Gonzalez,79.
Screenshot showing the outside and inside of the building that was struck.
Missile appears to be a US AGM-88 HARM according to experts familiar with the weapons system as well as my own experience. The remains of the missile are shown below as well as with a comparison.
The AGM-88 HARM/AARGM missile is what’s known as an anti-radiation missile. The missiles function is to home in on radar signals it detects and is used for destroying enemy air defense and radar. The missile can be pre-fired as a plane is flying into an area if it expects an enemy air defense radar will activate. However this missile either had no target or missed its target and hit this apartment.
Bellingcat does an awesome write up on this incident that I’ll link to here:
The last strike I found was on a set of buildings located at Fort Guaicaipuro, south of Caracas.
It’s unclear what is stored at this site as footage from the aftermath has yet to be released.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. It took me a lot longer than I expected to gather all the data and do the work to geolocate everything. Every time I do a big project like this I learn new skills and hopefully they will carry over and help improve future projects.
Im positive that some strikes were missed. If so, I’d like to know about it, so send me an email or message on any of my socials. The map from the New York Times has one strike I just couldn’t confirm at the El Libertador airport and I looked but couldn’t find evidence of a strike taking place there.
This morning U.S. forces have seized two tankers. The first, the M/T Marinera (formerly the M/T Bella-1) is a tanker that fled from U.S. forces while trying to get to Venezuela late last month. It has been tailed by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter since around December 17th and was taken somewhere between the UK and Iceland. The second ship is the M/V Sophia which was seized in the Caribbean.
The seizure of the Marinera doesn’t come as a surprise as a number of analysts, experts and people interested in world events followed along as the U.S. moved Special Forces assets to the UK and the ship attempted to evade U.S. forces for several weeks. It has been under near constant surveillance since it fled from US forces while trying to enter Venezuela in December.
On social media the U.S. European command put out a statement that said “The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro”
The USCGC Munro is a Legend-Class National Security Cutter.
USCGC Munro, photo taken from the deck of the Bella-1 several days ago.
The armed forces in the United Kingdom had a large part to play in the operation including offering basing support to U.S. forces and deploying RFA Tideforce, a Tide-class tanker to the area.
RFA Tideforce
The Marinera is being accused of international sanctions evasion. As UK Defence Secretary John Healey MP said “ This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.”
Map of the known course of the Marinera since August.
Specifically the Bella-1 is sanctioned by the U.S. under its counter-Iran sanctions, sanctions attempting to curtail Iran’s efforts of destabilizing the Middle East.
Efforts the ship took to change and hide its identity and throw off its pursuers show that the ship is well connected to the international fleet of shadow ships. The ship already had a Russian flag onboard, likely in case of a scenario like this, or from potential cases in the past where it had changed its identity.
Two images taken from the Marinera show a little bird helicopter from the 160th Nightstalkers as the US prepared to board the ship.
The Russian’s had reportedly sent a several warships including a submarine to escort the tanker to Russian waters however they never intervened during the seizure. L
A statement from the Russian Ministry of Transport.
As far as the M/V Sophia. All we know is that the U.S. seized the ship as it was trying to leave Venezuelan waters with its transponder off, attempting to conceal its location. The ship is not registered to any state and was said to be conducting “illicit activities” in Caribbean waters. Its reported destination was China.
I’ve included the video that was shared of the seizure of the M/V Sophia by the U.S.
If you have any information about this article or any others. Email me at
GlobalConflictReporting@Proton.me
Shoutout to my buddy Andy who was emailing me about this situation this morning as I was getting woke up. I was able to be halfway informed before I even knew anything was going on.
In the early morning hours of January 3rd, 2026, US forces launched an operation to capture the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. The operation was called Operation Absolute Resolve.
According to General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, At near 1:01AM (EST) US apprehension forces arrived at the residence of Maduro.The area was secured and Maduro, along with his wife Cilia Flores were taken into custody and flown via helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima.
Video shows US helicopters on their way to capture Maduro.
U.S. helicopters firing on Venezuelan positions.
Believed to be a US Army MH-60 DAP firing on ground targets in Caracas.
It’s been reported that members of Delta Forces led the ground operations to capture Maduro. According to Trump, Maduro was rushed as he tried to make it into what Trump described as similar to a panic room type area. Soldiers on the mission came equipped with blow torches for cutting through the steel doors of his safety shelter if he had been able to make it that far. It’s also been reported that he and his wife were in bed when the soldiers arrived but with what was taking place outside I doubt they were asleep. Members of the FBI also are reported to have taken part in the raid and it has been reported by ABC News that the CIA managed to track and maintain a lock on Maduro’s position in the time leading up to the operation. It’s possible the CIA had a source inside of the government.
The operation had actually been planned for Christmas Day but had to be pushed back due to weather and the launching of the U.S. strikes in Nigeria.
This video doesn’t show much but was taken as the opening airstrikes hit Caracas.
During the operation, multiple airstrikes were carried out across the capital of Caracas and elsewhere. All of the targets confirmed so far have been military targets. Air defense systems seem to have been the main target but some general military sites and ports were struck as well.
Close-up footage shows the U.S. airstrike on the port of La Guaira, Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/Ymb0wRp4M3
In a statement given on social media Attorney General Pam Bondi said “Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York,” she continued “Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”
The operation was carried out with a reported 150 aircraft launched from almost a dozen different locations. F-22’s, F-35’s, B-1’s, EA-18G, E-4’s as well as helicopters.
Speaking of helicopters, videos were shared showing what are almost certainly members of the Nightstalkers flying into the city (MH-47 Chinook helicopters as well as MH-60s) engaging targets inside and around Caracas while also being the ride for the ground forces . The Nightstalkers are the 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) known for being the flight wing of the special forces.
The U.S. carried out this operation successfully with zero casualties according to reports. There was a MH-60 Blackhawk that received damage but was able to be flown back. Several U.S. service members were wounded with non life-threatening injuries. On the Venezuelan side the number I’m seeing for casualties is around 40, and I believe those are all Venezuelan military personnel as well as Maduro’s Cuban security team.
Aftermath and secondary explosions after a U.S. airstrike at the Higuerote airport.
I’m currently going through and identifying the targets thag were struck. By geolocating the videos we are able to get a better view kd what specificly happened and what the U.S. targets were. I’ll have a more complete report done in the next day or so but for now wanted to look at a couple of the strikes. One strike took place at the airport in Higuerote. The video above shows the direct aftermath of the attack on a Russian supplied 9K317M2 Buk-M2E medium-range air defence system. Below is the same strike filmed from the resort nearby.
In another clip-caught on a door cam, we have an attack on a telecommunications substation in La Boyera district in Caracas.
Video de una casa en la urbanización La Boyera, en Caracas, durante el ataque a las antenas ubicadas en El Volcán en la madrugada del 3 de enero de 2026.
Fue uno de los primeros blancos, probablemente para cortar las telecomunicaciones del régimen durante la operación. pic.twitter.com/OfyJjSxrG3
— Francisco Marín Maurera (@franciscoamarin) January 4, 2026
Translation: Video of a house in the La Boyera urbanization, in Caracas, during the attack on the antennas located at El Volcán in the early morning of January 3, 2026. It was one of the first targets, probably to cut off the regime’s telecommunications during the operation.
It’s believed the overall success of this attack was largely attributed to good planning, and good intelligence. Early on when the U.S. first started to increase its presence in the Caribbean one of the big risk noted in attacking Venezuela was the claimed large amount of MANPADS (man-portable air defense systems) in the country.
In all of the video footage I see one instance of anything larger than small arms fire coming up into the sky. For the most part Venezuelan air defense was completely silent. It truly seems like this raid caught the whole country off guard. Which is a little surprising given they have been running public simulations of an attack like this for months.
Last week on the night of December 24th, the CIA carried out a covert drone strike on a port facility located on the coast of Venezuela. This report is based off the statements made by the White House, CNN’s exclusive coverage of the incident and video from the facility that has been online since before the attack was linked to the U.S.
🚨🇺🇸🇻🇪 POSSIBLE FIRST US CIA COVERT ACTION IN VENEZUELA
An explosion was reported on December 24 in an industrial zone of Maracaibo, raising speculation of a covert US operation inside Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/k4QDefXpqY
Tweet with several videos highlighting the aftermath of the explosion.
The attack targeted an out of the way port in Maracaibo, that the U.S. believed to have been used by Tren de Aragua in the packing and transport of drugs. Drugs were allegedly stored at a warehouse on the port and then later loaded onto boats for smuggling. The building is owned by Primazol, a chemical production company. According to CNN’s source nobody was present at the time of the attack.
The CNN report said two of their sources told them that the strike was carried out with the help of US Special Operations Forces. The report goes on to say that this claim was denied. Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for US Special Operations Command said “Special Operations did not support this operation to include intel support.”So if they did participate, they aren’t saying, which is kind of the nature of special forces, so no surprise there. We know that the White House last month authorized special forces and the CIA to carry out operations in the region.
This operation was first revealed by the President himself in a much overlooked comment last week however, he kept most of the details to himself. On Monday the president was asked about the strike by Republican doner, John Catsimatidis who has a radio show, to which the president responded “We just knocked out — I don’t know if you read or you saw — they have a big plant, or a big facility, where the ships come from. Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard,”
Trump was later asked for more details and said “there was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs” and that an “implementation area” was “no longer around.”
One of the sources that CNN is referencing in their article claims that while the strike was successful destroying the building and the boats(as well as the alleged drugs), the source says it’s mostly symbolic because of the amount of similar facilities.
The U.S. has launched 30 strikes on boats allegedly loaded with drugs and bound for the states. Targeting the boats is only a temporary fix for a complex problem. Land strikes were always going to be required if the goal of the White House was ending the flow of drugs from Venezuela, which supplies tons and tons of cocaine which when it reaches the US is often turned into crack cocaine, a much more potent and deadly version of the drug.
US Intel has long pointed at high ranking members of the Nicolás Maduro regime as the leaders of the Tren de Aragua cartel. With Maduro right at the head. These strikes and the buildup of military forces are aimed squarely at putting pressure on president Maduro. The question that’s been raised is “to what end?”
The U.S. is gathering a large number of forces into the Caribbean, likely to support more ground strikes in the future. The U.S. has also implemented a blockade on all oil products leaving Venezuela having detained at least two ships already.
Several days ago images were released from China showing a glimpse of an idea that was first discussed in World War 2. The images show a standard container ship however on closer inspection it’s revealed that the containers on the ship are housing dozens of vertical launch missile tubes as well as other military equipment turning the ship from a standard hauler into a weapon in disguise.
Image showing the VLS tubes as well as the decoy launcher and radar.
The ship’s deck is almost covered with these containerized launchers. After counting I believe it has a total of 60 launchers. From their size I would estimate this is a universal style system capable of launching several types of missiles. Including surface-to-air and land attack. We can also see a bit of what looks like the hydraulic system which can be used to raise the launch tubes out of the containers.
The ship is also outfitted with a number of other upgrades like a Type 1130 30mm CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) mounted above a container. This is useful for engaging incoming threats although its short range makes it a last resort. Another container is outfitted with a Type 726 decoy launcher. These decoy launchers can reportedly fire a number of differ types of countermeasures.
Image showing the CIWS as well as the decoy launcher and radar.
The ship comes with several radar systems. One large flat panel AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar (Possibly in the Type 364/ Dragon eye family).
China isnt the only country to work towards the development of containerized weapons. Iran and the U.S. have both made advancements in this field, although neither has deployed them to my knowledge.
China has continued to attempt to leverage their civilian maritime tech capabilities for military purposes. This includes converted semi-submersible vessel for launching helicopters, and a ferry to support invasion operations. Weapons hidden in plain sight like this could become a problem in the future as the tech improves, their disguise look more authentic, and their number increase. A fleet of these armed with anti-ship missiles operating in a heavy shipping lane could shut down a country’s trade. Operating as apart of a fleet they could be loaded up with surface-to-air missiles for added fleet air- defense.
Right now this ship isn’t hard to spot as a military boat. The CIWS isn’t able to be hidden away as it seems to just be bolted to the top of a container. It’s unclear if the radar can be hidden away.
This is definitely something that’s going to be more of a problem in the future, how close we are to that future, is unclear. Gathering more intel and data on this and other weapons systems remains critical for the U.S. as China pushes towards maritime domination in the pacific and beyond.
On the 25th of December 2025 US forces launched a wave of strikes on ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA) targets in Sokoto State in Northwestern Nigeria. The White House cited attacks on members of the African country’s Christian population as the reason for the strikes.
The attacks were carried with reportedly more than a dozen BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAM) launched from the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117), which its believed the ship was in the Gulf of Guinea at the time. Video was released by AFRICOM on Christmas Day showing the launch of a single TLAM.
Locals reported explosions in the small town of Jabo about 10 miles from the state’s capital.
The attack was carried out with the support of the Nigerian government who in a statement mentioned exchanging intelligence with the U.S.
While the White House says the strikes are because ISIS-WA are targeting and killing Christians, we lack a specific recent incident that shows this group is specificly killing based on religion. ISIS-WA often targets government and civil defense forces as well as their rival in the region Boko Haram. Religion isn’t usually a factor or at least not the main factor as ISIS-WA, more often than not, kills Muslim and other religions as well as Christians. All that being said Nigeria has had a rash of kidnappings lately and in one instance gunmen abducted hundreds of schoolchildren from a Catholic school woth the aim to get ransom money
These strikes signal an increased interest in the country by the U.S. who have largely withdrawn from Africa during this administration. Earlier this year US president Donald Trump declared Nigeria a “country of concern” which could be a precursor to stronger involvement by the U.S. like sanctions.
Global Conflict Reporting 
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