The statement that lit up Washington
Kash Patel and Pam Bondi say a Trump-era operation led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his transfer into U.S. custody. According to their joint statement, the mission brought together the Department of Justice, the FBI, the DEA, the Department of War, the State Department, the Intelligence Community, and international partners. That is a lot of moving parts, which is Washington’s favorite way to say, “This one was serious.” The message was plain: when the federal government actually works as a team, it can still do big things.
How the mission was carried out
The statement says the operation took months of planning and was built on close coordination across agencies. It claims Maduro was captured on January 3, 2026, during a large-scale mission called Operation Absolute Resolve. The ground raid was reportedly carried out by U.S. Army Delta Force and FBI agents, while more than 150 aircraft from the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps provided cover. The account says Venezuelan air defenses were disabled and the electrical grid was jammed, which is about as subtle as a linebacker in a tuxedo. The stated goal was to make sure the operation moved fast and stayed under U.S. control from start to finish.
Why Maduro was targeted
Patel and Bondi said the mission was tied to an ongoing criminal case involving large-scale drug trafficking and related crimes. Their statement argues that these offenses fueled violence, destabilized the region, and fed the drug crisis that has harmed American families for years. That is the part too many elites like to skip past while they talk about “root causes” and hold hands in conferences. The Trump team’s view was much simpler: if a foreign strongman is tied to narco-crime, then the law should come knocking, not making excuses.
The rescue style details
Patel later told Fox News that the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group played a major role, including the Hostage Rescue Team and aviation specialists. He said FBI teams were embedded with the insertion force and maritime elements, and that the Foreign Transfer of Custody kept Maduro under law-enforcement control during the transfer. The point, he stressed, was that this was a law-enforcement mission, not a war. In other words, the badge still meant something, and the people carrying it were not there for a photo op.
Trump’s leadership gets the credit
Both officials praised President Trump and the people under his command, saying the mission succeeded because every link in the chain was executed without failure. The joint statement called it a perfect operation and thanked the military, federal agents, and DOJ lawyers involved. Patel also said the White House had the kind of leadership that makes this sort of coordination possible. That is the difference between a government that talks tough and one that actually acts. The first makes speeches. The second brings results.
Joint Statement from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration
The Department of Justice, working in close coordination with the Department of War, the Department of State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 4, 2026
Joint Statement from @FBI, @DEA and @DOJ
The Department of Justice, working in close coordination with the Department of War, the Department of State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Intelligence Community, and our interagency and…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) January 4, 2026
President Trump’s operation in Venezuela was a total team effort and the kind of execution that happens with great leadership in the White House – @FBI was proud to be a part of it embedding our HRT operators and aviation specialists for the entire mission 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/y7a2XSSDzX
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) January 5, 2026
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