It has been confirmed that the administration of Donald Trump had been meticulously preparing for months to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro under an operation codenamed ‘Firm Resolve’. The U.S. military is said to have even built a mock-up of President Maduro’s hideout to conduct infiltration training.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kane said at a press conference held after the operation to capture President Maduro was completed on the 3rd (local time) that President Trump gave the order to initiate the operation at 10:46 p.m. on the 2nd. As soon as the order came down, more than 150 aircraft from some 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere, including bombers·fighters·reconnaissance aircraft·spy planes·drones, took off simultaneously toward Venezuela.

Kane said, “The Army·Navy·Air Force·Marine Corps·Space Force cooperated with intelligence and law-enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)·the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) at an unprecedented level,” adding, “It was an operation that required extreme precision and integration.”

According to his account, the helicopters carrying the troops assigned to apprehend President Maduro entered Venezuela at low altitude about 30 meters above sea level to avoid detection. The New York Times (NYT) reported that this capture mission, undertaken by elite U.S. Army Delta Force operators, was the most dangerous since the U.S. Navy SEALs’ 2011 operation that killed Osama bin Laden at his hideout in Pakistan.

Marine Corps·Navy·Air Force personnel were mobilized to cover the helicopters. In the process, U.S. cyber operations caused temporary power outages in parts of Caracas. Kane said they neutralized Venezuela’s air defense system to secure a safe route for the helicopters, adding the operation achieved “a complete surprise effect.”

The helicopters reached President Maduro’s hideout at about 2:01 a.m. on the 3rd. Kane explained, “As soon as they reached the target point, the helicopters came under attack, and we returned fire with overwhelming force in self-defense.” He said, “One of our aircraft was hit in the process, but not a single U.S. service member was killed.”

President Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he watched the Delta Force raid in real time from the Mar-a-Lago resort. He added, “I literally watched it like a TV show,” and, “It was truly astonishing.”

Trump said, “(Maduro) tried to flee to a safe place, but in reality it was not safe,” explaining, “There was a very thick, heavy steel door, but it was something that could be blown open in 47 seconds, and our agents moved so quickly he did not even reach that door.”

He continued, “There was considerable resistance on the scene, and a gunfight ensued,” adding, “Maduro tried to flee to another safe location and even reached inside that building, but ultimately could go no farther.” The U.S. troops who arrested President Maduro and his wife departed the area by helicopter under the cover of fighter jets and attack drones.

Kane said that for this operation, the CIA dispatched a team on the ground starting in August and “identified not only Maduro’s hideouts but also where he came and went, what he ate, what he wore, and even what kinds of pets he kept.” Citing sources, the NYT reported that the CIA collected intelligence using not only stealth drones but also human assets able to approach President Maduro. According to Reuters, the U.S. military built a replica of President Maduro’s safe house to rehearse infiltration methods.

Kane said the U.S. military was ready to execute the operation in early December last year but waited past Christmas and New Year for the right moment in order to minimize civilian casualties, maximize the element of surprise, and minimize the possibility that President Maduro would be injured.