President Donald Trump praised on Friday at a military base in North Carolina the special forces operation that culminated, on January 3, with the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“What we did recently in Venezuela, no one had ever seen anything like this,” Trump assured in a speech delivered to troops at Fort Bragg base.
Trump praises troops after Maduro’s capture
“Let me begin by saying a very, very big ‘Thank you’ to our GREAT WARRIORS and the men and women of the U.S. Army.” – President Donald J. Trump at Fort Bragg🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/8HP8qn7t64
– The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 13, 2026
The Republican assured that the assault, which involved the infiltration of several attack helicopters and military transport in Caracas, “ended, literally, in one minute”.
“They all ran away. And that’s what we have. We have the strongest Army in the world by far,” Trump said.
“It was a big base, one of the biggest in South America, where (Maduro) lived, and in a matter of minutes they took him out of there by helicopter. They had to go through steel doors. The steel was like papier-mâché,” the U.S. president went on to relate about the assault on Fuerte Tiuna in the Venezuelan capital.
Maduro and former Venezuelan first lady, Cilia Flores, were transported that same day to a federal prison in New York, where they await trial on charges of narcoterrorism and conspiracy.
Trump again spoke about the weapons system he has dubbed the “decombulator” which he claims is a secret development that was used in the January 3 operation.
“They talk about the decombobulator because (Venezuelan troops) never managed to fire. The Russian (defense) equipment didn’t work. The Chinese equipment didn’t work. Everyone is trying to figure out why it didn’t work. Someday they will find out, but it didn’t work. It’s nice to be able to fly without being shot at,” the president commented.
Trump recalled in turn that “three U.S. helicopter pilots “were severely wounded in the legs upon landing” and that there were snipers stationed on these helicopters who neutralized the machine guns that wounded these pilots.
“Those pilots were incredible and really brave. Maybe I’ll see some of them very soon,” added the real estate mogul, who was scheduled to meet, accompanied by U.S. first lady Melania Trump, with members of the special forces who participated in the operation and their families, according to the White House.
Filed under: Trump praises troops after Maduro’s capture
With information from EFE
