Inside The Operation That Led To Nicolas Maduro's Arrest: "200 Americans Went Into Caracas"

The United States has revealed new details of the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said nearly 200 American troops took part in a raid in downtown Caracas, claiming the mission was carried out without a single US casualty. Speaking at an event in Virginia, Hegseth suggested Venezuelan and Russian-supplied air defences failed during the operation. Maduro and his wife were later produced before a federal court in New York, where heavy security and large protests were witnessed outside the courthouse. US authorities say Maduro was apprehended as an indicted individual wanted by American justice, while Maduro has rejected the charges, calling the arrest a kidnapping and asserting presidential immunity. The US counters that it does not recognise the legitimacy of Venezuela’s recent elections. The development marks a rare instance of a foreign leader being detained and tried on US soil, drawing comparisons to the 1990 arrest of Panama’s Manuel Noriega, and raising major questions about international law, sovereignty, and the future of Venezuela.