'What he ate': Inside the meticulously planned operation to capture Maduro
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided a very detailed account of how the U.S. military’s mission to apprehend Nicholas Maduro and his wife took place early Saturday morning.
Here are highlights:
The mission was called Operation "Absolute Resolve."
Caine said that more than 150 aircraft were involved, including fighter aircraft, bombers, surveillance aircraft, intelligence aircraft, and helicopters. He said the entire joint force was involved in the mission (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, intelligence agencies).
The aircraft involved were:
-- Fighters: F-35s, F/A-18s, E/A-18s, F-22s
-- Bombers: B-1 bombers
-- Unmanned aircraft and E-2 Hawkeyes
He said the aircraft took off from 20 different bases on land at at sea and that support aircraft were involved as well.
President Donald Trump gave the order to undertake the mission at 10:46 p.m. Friday night, Caine said. He said the president's message of "Good luck and Godspeed" was communicated to the entire force.
The extraction force that captured Maduro and his wife included law enforcement.
The helicopters carrying the force flew at an altitude of 100 feet above the water as they approached Venezuela.
As they came near, air defense systems were disabled to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters to Maduro’s compound, Caine said.
The helicopters arrived at the compound at 1:01 a.m. Eastern time, 2:01 a.m. local time.
Upon arrival, they came under fire and responded in self-defense with "overwhelming force," Caine said.
One of the helicopters was hit, but remained flyable.
Maduro and his wife were taken into custody by Justice Department officials "assisted by incredible U.S. military" forces with "no loss of life," Caine said. He did not provide any details of any injured Americans.
When the helicopters left the compound, they were protected by fighter aircraft and drones that provided suppressive fire.
The extraction force was over water at 3:39 a.m. Eastern time, Caine said.
Maduro and wife were then taken to the USS Iwo Jima.
Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, in a call to state TV Saturday morning, said that "innocent people" had died, but gave no specifics, and didn't address during a later speech.
Caine said the mission was "meticulously planned" and was "the culmination of months of planning and rehearsals."
"We think we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, not to get it right, but to ensure that we cannot get it wrong. Our jobs are to integrate combat power so when the order comes, we can deliver overwhelming force at the time and the place of our choosing against any foe anywhere in the world," he said.
The military worked closely with the U.S. intelligence agencies: CIA, NGA, NSA. "We watched, we prepared, we remained patient and professional," said Caine.
U.S. intelligence knew Maduro’s pattern of life -- where he moved, lived, traveled, ate, and worked, he said.
The mission was ready in early December waiting for the right day to maximize the element of surprise, he said.
ABC News' Aicha Elhammar contributed to this report.
