The head of the Pentagon reveals for the first time the number of troops involved in the capture of Maduro
Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth. Credit: Jim WATSON/AFP/Profimedia
Nearly 200 special operations forces carried out the pre-dawn raid in Caracas on Saturday that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Monday, revealing for the first time the size of the force involved in the mission.
Until now, the Pentagon had mentioned that 150 planes were involved in the raid, but it had not disclosed the number of troops.
“Nearly 200 of our greatest Americans went to the center of Caracas (…) and apprehended a defendant wanted by American justice, in support of law enforcement authorities, without an American being killed,” Hegseth said Monday in a speech addressed to American sailors and shipbuilders in Virginia.
The first classified briefing with Congressional leaders
Top Trump administration officials are expected to brief congressional leaders on Monday about the weekend operation in which the US military captured the Venezuelan president and his wife in Caracas without informing Congress of the operation in advance.
Brought to the US, Nicolas Maduro was charged with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of automatic weapons and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess automatic weapons and destructive devices. Both he and his wife have pleaded “not guilty”.
VIDEO What Nicolas Maduro said before the New York judge at his first court appearance. The lawyers did not ask for bail
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the argument that Congress had to be informed in advance and said in a series of interviews over the weekend that the operation did not require the approval of lawmakers because it was a law enforcement operation rather than a military invasion.
In a news conference hours after the operation, US President Donald Trump said he bypassed Congress because he did not trust top lawmakers to keep the plans confidential.
“Congress has a tendency to leak information,” Trump said.
