Visualizing the US assault on Venezuela
By Allegra Goodwin, Isaac Yee, Avery Schmitz, Thomas Bordeaux, CNN
(CNN) — A dramatic new phase of President Donald Trump’s showdown with Venezuela started Saturday, when the United States launched a large-scale series of strikes – followed hours later by Trump’s announcement that Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro had been captured by US forces, and removed from the country.
Here’s what we can say about the daring raid, dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve by US authorities, using verified video and images from the scene, satellite imagery, and other open-source information.
Although planning for the attacks had been secretly underway since December, speaking at a Saturday news conference from his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump said Saturday that he made the final decision to strike at 11:46 p.m. Venezuela time (10:46 p.m. ET) the previous day.
Reports of loud explosions and low-flying aircraft in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas began pouring in just before 2 a.m. local time, with a video showing multiple blasts and fires emanating from the area of the Fort Tiuna military installation captured at 1:58 a.m., according to metadata. A local resident, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told CNN explosions continued until around 3 a.m.
CNN verified strikes around the same time on at least seven key infrastructure sites, including La Guaira port, which is less than 10 miles north of central Caracas, and the city’s Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base, widely known as La Carlota airport.
Other targets included the country’s national astronomical and meteorological observatory in the capital, as well as a communications antenna installation just south of Caracas, which was seen burning in footage geolocated by CNN.
At a second airport in Higuerote, about 52 miles east of the capital, dramatic footage verified by CNN showed a large blaze and explosions which began shortly before 2 a.m., according to an eyewitness. Multiple balls of fire could be seen arcing through the sky in the video, consistent with munitions, such as those used by air defense systems, burning.
A resident of Higuerote, a coastal town, told CNN he woke up to what he initially thought were fireworks, before more blasts echoed across the area and the sky turned suddenly red.
“This was the moment I realized it was something more serious,” said the 23-year-old, who asked not to be identified for security reasons. “My neighbors started screaming and running through the street, so I went outside and saw this giant wall of smoke.”
“It went silent for about 20 minutes and then we could hear planes again, then two more explosions,” he added. “Everything was shaking after that.”
As blasts reverberated through Caracas and the surrounding cities, a separate mission to seize Venezuelan leader Maduro was also underway, according to Trump, speaking at a Saturday news conference from his Mar-a-Lago club.
The president said US military helicopters touched down at 2:01 a.m. local time, as Maduro attempted to enter a steel shelter but was unable to close the door before he was detained by US forces. In one video verified by CNN, helicopters are seen moving toward the Fort Tiuna area.
US forces were “over the water” and out of Venezuela by 4:29 a.m. local time with “indicted persons aboard,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said. Speaking earlier on Saturday to Fox News, Trump said he watched the capture in real time, “like a television show.”
Trump publicly announced the operation at 4:21 a.m. Venezuela time in a post on Truth Social, saying Maduro had been captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores. They were dragged from their bedroom by elite US forces during the raid, sources told CNN.
An image Trump shared on Truth Social later Saturday showed Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima warship, according to the US president.
Maduro has now landed in the US, where he is expected to face drugs and weapons charges in Manhattan, according to US officials.
As daylight broke in Venezuela, the damage from the night’s attacks became apparent. Footage geolocated to La Carlota airbase showed a Buk-M2 mid-range anti-air missile launcher, which appeared to have been decimated by a strike. Another video from the Higuerote airport showed heavy damage to a building and a destroyed plane, along with what appeared to be a damaged air defense system. A satellite image from the airport reviewed by CNN appears to show a crater on the runway and a burn mark near the damaged building.
The strikes also caused significant damage at Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, satellite imagery analysis reveals. In one picture provided by Vantor, a bunker appears to have been destroyed next to a field that was still ablaze. It was not immediately clear whether Maduro had been sheltering in this specific facility at the time. Several other structures at the site, including vehicle shelters and a power station, were also destroyed, according to analysis of the image.
The-CNN-Wire
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