Global Conflict Reporting

Tag: Maduro

  • Overview of operation to capture Venezuelan President Maduro-Operation Absolute Resolve.

    By Scott Jackson

    01.04.2026

    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. 

    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.

    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.

    Link to source-

    https://www.reuters.com/article/world/exclusive-venezuela-holds-5-000-russian-surface-to-air-manpads-missiles-idUSKBN18I0EA/

    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.

    More on this story in the coming days.

  • Navy aircraft operate in the Gulf of Venezuela.

    By. Scott Jackson

    12.10.2025

    Two F/A-18’s were seen flying deep into the Gulf of Venezuela on the 9th, staying there for around 40 minutes according to flight tracking data. The Gulf of Venezuela is a fairly small body of water surrounded on three sides by parts of Venezuela. At its widest the Gulf is only around 150 miles wide (West to East) and 75 miles long (North to South) and the opening of the mouth of the area is only 52 miles wide. Venezuela’s border extends out from its coast 12 miles in every direction not leaving much room for the jets to operate. Venezuela actually claims all of the Gulf as an area of importance to them and considers it all their territory, a claim which the US has debated and challenged for decades.

    Image from FlightRadar24 showing the two F/A-18 Super Hornets in the Gulf of Venezuela. Call signs- RHINO11 and RHINO12.

    Working alongside the F/A-18’s were at least two of the EA-18G Growlers Electronic Warfare aircraft which went into an orbit a couple hundred miles north of the Gulf. Grizzly 1 and Grizzly 2 are the call signs.

    Image from FlightRadar24 show the F/A-18 SuperHornets and north of them the EA-18 Growlers.

    The Growler specializes in electronic attack. Using its overpowering Next Generation Jammer pod carried underwing, it can disrupt modern radar systems on air defense or other air units allowing the growler and other allied planes to get in and out of a mission area without being seen in cases where old radar are being used.

    Electronic attack and radar jamming are poorly understood by most people and there is a lot about the NGJ pods (and even the legacy AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System) that is still classified. However these jamming pods work by attacking the connection between a radar and its target and can reflect a distorted signal back to the receiver.A jamming pod can disrupt a radar by flooding the radar with noise (think of looking into a spotlight)—injecting false signals, alter the timing, or deceiving the radar into tracking a “ghost” location. The tactical advantages of this are obvious, making the growler also amazing at anti-radar and anti air defense missions, also known as SEAD/DEAD. Suppression or Destruction of Enemy air defense. The growlers here could have been jamming the radar for the SuperHornets but more likely they were gathering intelligence on the signals that Venezuela was sending out, in case they are needed for a future strike missions. The last of its features I’d like to point out is the growlers APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar which it was probably using here to scan the Venezuelan coastline.

    It’s believed both the Super Hornets as well as the Growlers are operating from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford (CVN-78) which arrived in the Caribbean last month.

    The article I’m liking too is more reading for how the growlers jamming actually works and what some lf the systems limitations are. Highly recommend.

    https://theaviationgeekclub.com/us-navy-ea-18g-growler-pilot-explains-why-jamming-pods-dont-turn-a-non-stealth-aircraft-into-a-stealth-aircraft/amp/

    Two KC-46A Aerial Refueling planes.

    Another event that was missed yesterday was a transfer of several aircraft (possibly Growlers) from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington State to the Caribbean. Their presence was noted by flight trackers who also often listen to radio comms between aircraft and Air Traffic Control. They were ferried to the Caribbean by two KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling jets.

    An image showcasing the E/A-18 Growler and its multiple Jamming pods.This one is also packing several anti-radiation missiles that can be set to launch automatically when detecting an enemy radar.

    US aircraft have probed Venezuelan air defense in this same area before utilizing at least one Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft along with several other unidentified aircraft. The US has recently been very public with its aircraft operations in the Caribbean, possibly as a sign to the Maduro regime of its willingness and ability to escalate the situation further if President Trump’s demands aren’t met.

    Flightradar24 showing an RC-135 Rivet Joint and several unknown aircraft operating off the coast of Venezuela.

    In response to an email inquiry sent by GCR to USSOUTHCOM we received this statement from a SOUTHCOM Spokesperson. .

    “We conduct routine, lawful operations in international airspace, including over the Gulf of Venezuela. We will continue to fly safely, professionally, and in accordance with international law to protect the homeland, monitor illicit activity, and support stability across the Americas.”