On last Saturday afternoon I received a message from my brother and I quickly jumped on my computer to check news outlets and social media to determine what happened. I was pretty surprised, we knew the US fleet was stationed in the Caribbean, they were not about to head home, so something was eventually going to happen. So it was really no surprise when missiles started hitting the capital Caracas, I view this as a flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Venezuela.

Initial reports were that CH-47 Chinook helicopters and V-22 Osprey were flying over the capital. It was later confirmed that modified MH-60 Blackhawk helicopters carrying Delta Force commandos were involved, conducted by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Approximately 150 aircraft were used in the raid to take out air defences to allow the commando forces to fly in for a low level insertion.

President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were stopped just short of their safe room, the raid happened so fast, they were caught in bed and did not make it to this enclosure. I have nothing but respect for forces such as Delta, they are the elite counter-terrorist force of the US Army. The question I ask, is it legal for US forces to enter a country and kidnap the President? This sets a nasty international precedent, can countries openly flout international law without repercussion?

In August, the US deployed three destroyers in Caribbean waters, then immediately grew to three amphibious assault ships with approximately 6000 marines and sailors attached. In September, F-35 fighter jets were dispatched to Puerto Rico, there was also a submarine diverted to the region. The CIA was operating in the region, this goes without saying, they were operating drones over Venezuela and apparently had a human source close to Maduro. The CIA was aware of Maduro’s movements and routine after months of surveillance, they knew where he would be at any given time.

From September 2025 onwards, operations against small vessels in the area were targeted, this included killing people in the water after their boats were sunk, breaching international law. The strikes have been questioned as an overreach of executive authority, the United States does not have the authority to hunt down and execute Venezuelan nationals in international waters. In late October, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the most advanced carrier in the US Navy, was ordered to the region by the Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, so we knew this was going to escalate rapidly at some point.

There is certainly a fair degree of irony in the Trump Administration, who themselves attempted to overturn an election in the United States on January 6, 2021. Trump has announced that the United States will now run the country in the interim, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia should be immediately handed power in Venezuela. Donald Trump has viewed Nicolás Maduro as an illegitimate President since the July 2024 elections. Urrutia stepped up at the last minute when opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was ruled ineligible. Machado was forced to flee the country, but popped up in Norway to collect her Nobel Peace Prize – the irony is not lost on me here. We will see if the Trump Administration immediately hands over control of the country to Urrutia as the legitimate leader of that country.