Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Jan 11: The White House on Saturday released a dramatic first-hand account of the US military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, describing how regime forces were overwhelmed during the raid.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the account online, urging people to read it, and presented it as the testimony of a Venezuelan security guard who claimed to have been on duty during the operation. The guard alleged that Venezuelan forces were left defenceless as their radar systems suddenly failed moments before the assault.
“We were on guard, but suddenly all our radar systems shut down,” the guard was quoted as saying. He claimed that swarms of drones appeared overhead, followed by a small number of helicopters deploying what he estimated to be around 20 attackers.
According to the account, Venezuelan forces were “technologically unmatched” and unable to respond effectively. “They didn’t look like anything we’ve fought against before,” the guard said, describing the confrontation as a “massacre”.
The guard claimed that although Venezuelan forces numbered in the hundreds, they stood no chance against the attackers, who used what he described as highly precise and rapid gunfire. He further alleged that an unidentified weapon, possibly sonic or acoustic in nature, was deployed during the raid, causing severe physical distress, including bleeding and loss of mobility among those on duty.
He also claimed that the attackers suffered no casualties, adding that the advanced technology used made resistance impossible. “Those twenty men, without a single casualty, killed hundreds of us,” he said, issuing a warning to other countries in the region about the military capabilities of the United States.
The account surfaced as US officials continued to defend the legality and necessity of the predawn operation, in which Maduro was seized and flown out of Venezuela. The mission reportedly followed months of covert intelligence-gathering by the CIA, including drone surveillance and human intelligence, allowing US planners to track Maduro’s movements closely.
Senior US military officials have said elite Delta Force commandos rehearsed the mission on a replica of Maduro’s compound before launching the operation. Reports indicate that US forces disabled air defences, cut power in parts of Caracas and cleared a path for helicopters carrying special operations troops.
Maduro was reportedly captured within minutes, transferred to a US warship and later flown to the United States to face charges. US President Donald Trump has described the operation as a decisive blow against drug trafficking in Latin America, even as the raid continues to draw international attention and debate.