Retired Air Force Gen. Blaine Holt said the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was the result of intensive planning and precise execution, describing it as one of the most complex missions U.S. forces can undertake.
Appearing Saturday on Newsmax's "America Right Now," Holt said the mission was carried out by Delta Force, the Army's elite special operations unit, which regularly trains for high-risk capture and extraction scenarios.
While not rehearsing the exact mission in advance, Holt said operators would have conducted rapid, mission-specific rehearsals once the order was given.
Holt said the operation involved deliberate efforts to create confusion ahead of the raid, including strikes to disrupt Venezuelan command and control and attacks on key defense leaders.
He said those actions paved the way for the successful takedown of Maduro and his wife, followed by their extraction from Venezuela.
According to Holt, the captives were transported offshore and moved onto the deck of the USS Iwo Jima, where they are currently being held. He emphasized the difficulty of synchronizing the many moving parts involved, noting that the operation required flawless timing.
"The fact that we didn't lose anybody, maybe a few injuries, is a testament to the professionalism of our forces," Holt said, calling the mission "as hard as it possibly gets."
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James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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