“We lost no aircraft; everything came back — we got it all back,” Trump said later. “One of them was hit pretty hard — a helicopter — but we got it back.”
The president elaborated during an 11 a.m. news conference at Mar-a-Lago, stating that while several American personnel were wounded, no U.S. troops were killed.
“I think we had nobody killed, I have to say, because a couple of guys were hit,” Trump said. “But they came back, and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape.”
Delta Force and CIA Role in ‘Madura Captured’ Mission
Two people familiar with the operation told U.S. media outlets that CIA intelligence identified Maduro’s precise location before Delta Force executed the capture. Delta Force is a highly classified U.S. Army unit specializing in counterterrorism and hostage rescue missions.
Trump also claimed that the U.S. military constructed a replica of the target house to rehearse the mission in advance, underscoring the level of preparation involved.
According to a report cited by ABC News, Trump allegedly authorized the operation days earlier, with troops initially prepared to strike on Christmas Day. That timeline was reportedly delayed due to unrelated U.S. military operations against ISIS in Nigeria.
Injuries Reported, No Confirmed U.S. Fatalities
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed that American forces sustained injuries during the mission.
