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Capturing a President: CNN builds on the dangerous operation to arrest Maduro, as two helicopters landed at the compound (VIDEO)

2026-01-24 15:50:49Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Capturing a President: CNN builds on the dangerous operation to arrest Maduro, as two helicopters landed at the compound (VIDEO)

 

A daring and extremely dangerous operation by the United States to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro culminated in a fierce gunfight in the early hours of January 3 in Caracas.

According to a detailed analysis by CNN, US helicopters were exposed to extraordinary risks as they landed on a heavily fortified compound inside the Fort Tiuna military base, identified as the possible point of Maduro's kidnapping.

CNN has reconstructed the January 3 mission step by step, analyzing more than 50 videos and images filmed by eyewitnesses and mapping the flight routes of the US helicopters.

A particular focus of the analysis is the critical minutes of the final phase, when the exchange of fire between American attack aircraft and Venezuelan air defenses was intense and uninterrupted.


Footage shows that there were about two crucial minutes between the landing of a transport helicopter and its takeoff from the ground, during which time the fiery collision continued.

According to military experts, this was the most dangerous moment of the entire operation, as the helicopters were moving slowly and at low altitude, making them easy targets for even the simplest weapons.

The risk was further increased by the fact that US forces chose the most exposed possible landing spot: directly next to Maduro's compound.

"Organized chaos"

The attack on Fort Tiuna, one of Venezuela's largest military complexes, had been planned for a long time. In the early hours of January 3, a series of airstrikes across the country neutralized radar, communications, and air defense systems, clearing the way for special operations helicopters.

According to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, more than 150 aircraft – including bombers, fighter jets and reconnaissance platforms – were deployed from 20 land and naval bases. At around 01:30 in the morning, explosions were reported in the coastal town of Higuerote, where CNN has located strikes on an airfield housing Russian Buk-M2 air defense systems.


Weapons experts told CNN that the footage suggests the use of single-track attack drones, a technology that the US military has rapidly developed in recent years.

In Caracas, at around 01:58, two MH-47 Chinook transport helicopters were seen flying low towards Fort Tiuna. Former US soldier Wes Bryant described the strategy of the pre-emptive strikes as “organized chaos,” a tactic to keep enemy defenses under pressure before the landing.

The footage shows at least two helicopters landing on the compound amid gunfire from the ground, unloading bodies and immediately leaving. According to General Caine, US forces first entered Maduro's compound at 02:01 and then captured the Venezuelan president.

The most dangerous minutes

CNN has synchronized 10 additional videos showing the second phase of the operation, where US attack helicopters provided air cover while transport helicopters extracted Maduro and the troops who had captured him.

The sustained fire, described by experts as typical of American MH-60 Black Hawk attack helicopters equipped with 30mm cannons, is met with a counterattack by Venezuelan air defenses. About 20 seconds later, a transport helicopter is seen descending towards the fortified compound.


"Every helicopter is most vulnerable one minute before landing and one minute after takeoff," Bryant explains, emphasizing that at that stage the aircraft becomes an easy target.

The footage shows that one minute and 44 seconds after landing, a cloud of dust rises near the complex, followed by the launch of missiles and the takeoff of a Chinook. About 20 seconds later, another helicopter leaves the area.

A mission with grave consequences

The fire and explosions in Caracas ceased around 03:00, while US forces exited Venezuelan airspace around 04:29. According to Venezuelan authorities, the operation caused about 100 casualties, while Cuba stated that 32 members of the Cuban presidential security lost their lives.


The Trump administration announced that there were no American casualties.

A US Department of Justice document, dated December 23 and released after the operation, warned that US forces would face "significant resistance", including dozens of anti-aircraft batteries capable of shooting down helicopters.

"This was an attack that could have ended very badly," President Donald Trump declared after the operation. Although the mission was considered a success, experts call it a "ticking time bomb," noting that a single unforeseen factor could have turned the operation into a failure with serious international consequences.


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