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Trump Says Venezuela's Maduro Captured After Strikes. U.S. Strikes Venezuela and Captures Maduro. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired January 03, 2026 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:33]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS morning. I'm Victor Blackwell in Atlanta and of course, we're following the breaking news this morning. President Trump says the U.S. carried out large scale strikes on Venezuela overnight. And he says its president Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been captured and flown out of the country.

Now the Venezuelan vice president, she's asking for proof of life as Maduro's whereabouts right now are unknown. The president made this announcement on social media just after 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time. President Trump says that he will address the nation on the strikes from Mar-a-Lago later this morning.

Explosions rocked Venezuela this morning, knocked out power, sent people running outside.

This strike was at the La Carlotta Air base in Caracas. CNN journalists say the capital of Caracas has been quiet now for a couple of hours.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins me now from London. Nick, the news that the U.S. has captured and removed Venezuela's president, a stunning development. Give us the context.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, look, it's quite hard to overstate quite what this does to U.S. relations certainly in the Western hemisphere where it's put so much of its focus of its foreign policy.

This is a sitting president being taken from his capital city where his security forces should have him essentially impenetrably well- guarded and fortified, taken by American special forces along with his wife. You can see there the intensity of the military operation. I wouldn't call it enormous and it doesn't seem like it lasted that long in relative terms, but efficient significance and achieving this staggering result for the Trump White House, unprecedented, frankly, to decide to remove a foreign policy irritant.

Yes, the Trump administration have accused him of being a narco terrorist, the kingpin at the helm of two major global drug trafficking rings that they say traffic cocaine and other substances to the United States. But simply to fly in with your special forces into another country run by a rival, that is an irritant and take out, take away, capture and fly to the United States their sitting president is an utterly startling moment.

It shows, I think, the unbridled confidence with which President Trump at times operates. Some, I think his critics would call this reckless because at this stage we don't really know what comes next. We don't know the damage done to Venezuelan civilians during these military operations and we don't know the risks potentially that follow through.

Perhaps his successor, whoever Maduro's successor may indeed end up being, choosing to be more anti-American or the possibility of further chaos if we see the criminal groups who the U.S. alleges are so key in Venezuelan society struggle for influence, or we see some kind of wider collapse. So a lot that still has to be answered right now.

But be no mistake, because this is a startling moment. It shows U.S. military supremacy, as I say, the confidence in which this was executed, it seems, the efficiency. We don't know the extent of the damage to civilians and other parts of Venezuela here. We don't know what this means for Venezuela's military and political elite.

They've stood strong around Maduro for over a decade. Now they are clearly going to be in disarray right now. You will have, of course, questions being asked about who really wants that job as a successor, if indeed they too could potentially risk abduction by U.S. Special Forces in the dead of night.

And I think this also sends a signal perhaps to U.S. adversaries globally about the strength and decisiveness of Trump's action. We've seen him when it came to the Iranian nuclear program, act in a way which his predecessors perhaps wouldn't have contemplated. Some, I think would call that rash, perhaps less concerned about the things you don't know that might happen after you take a strident move, the unknown consequences that can follow.

But in this instance, we are now looking at a startling moment where a sitting president of a nation that has been a long term irritant in U.S. foreign policy in its near abroad has simply been captured and taken to the United States.

[06:05:08]

This is really about an indictment which we've heard U.S. officials stridently talk about being put before a grand jury in the Southern District of New York about narco terrorism for which since August there's been a $50 million reward for Maduro's capture information in leading to it, being no doubt the U.S. thinks it has a convincing criminal case.

What's distinctive here is the use of their military to capture and take away an individual and his wife who they say is a criminal suspect. But he's also the President of another nation with whom the U.S. had a geopolitical beef. That's what's so startling here, as is the fact that we don't really know right now what comes next.

And we knew so little about the fact this even was the United States carrying out this extensive military operation until we had a 74 word truth social post from the President himself saying that the U.S. was behind it along with U.S. law enforcement acting with its military.

A startling moment here. I think many of us heard these explosions and thought that it might have been the -- what many thought far-fetched notion of U.S. land military action against Venezuela that was a wild card. What I think few had thought might have even been on the table was the simple notion of using special forces to abduct Maduro and take him to the United States to face what the U.S. says is its own justice system for narco terrorism charges. A staggering moment here and one that I think also shows Maduro's inherent weakness.

There was little his armed forces could really do to stop the US coming in and taking him. And that's really their key job. If you can't protect your president in your own capital, what are your security forces for?

BLACKWELL: And then what happens next? I mean, listening to so many of your questions that you put on the table here, Nick, what's so stark is that so few of them can be answered in the near term that it will take some time to understand what will be next for the Maduro regime, what will be next for the Venezuelans there and the U.S. relationship with so many other countries that to this point we have no information that they were even notified about what was coming overnight in Caracas.

Nick Paton Walsh for us there in London, thank you so much.

Let's bring in now CNN's Julia Benbrook. Julia, what is the White House saying about what we've seen overnight and this capture of Maduro?

JULIA BENBROOK: Well, President Trump has said that we will hear from him directly in just a matter of hours. He's going to speak at 11:00 a.m. at Mar-a-Lago. That's where he's been spending this time for the holiday.

But what we have heard from him so far came like Nick mentioned in that brief Truth Social post, he confirmed that the United States had carried out this large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, Nicolas Maduro. Also that stunning reveal that Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country, both Maduro and his wife.

Now in a phone interview with the New York Times earlier today, Trump said that this was a brilliant operation. He added that a lot of good planning and a lot of great, great troops, great people went into this.

For months now, we have heard Trump either publicly hinting or outright saying that land strikes in Venezuela could take place soon. In fact, a CNN analysis of how many times he had teased that took it at close to 20 up until now. But of course, this action is going to receive a lot of reaction from

lawmakers on Capitol Hill. A source familiar told CNN that members of the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee we're not notified ahead of this and reaction from lawmakers did start coming in even though this news is overnight.

We did hear from Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah early on he was questioning the legality of these strikes. He then spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And we're now getting some of the updated information directly from Lee.

In fact, in a tweet, I believe we have it to pull up for you in full. Lee said this. He said that he got off the phone with Secretary Rubio. He said that Rubio informed him that Nicolas Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.

This action likely falls within the president's inherent authority under Article 2 of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.

[06:10:00]

He thanked Secretary Rubio for keeping him informed on this and said that Rubio said he anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody. So again, Victor, we are going to hear from Trump himself speaking to Americans about what took place at 11. That's going to take place at Mar-a-Lago, where he is for the holiday. He's expected to return to Washington sometime tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: Julia Benbrook in Washington for us. Thank you so much.

Let's go now live to journalist Mary Mena. She's standing by in Caracas. Mary, we understand that the skies are quiet now. What did you see and hear when the strike started and give us an idea of what's happening now that the sun's up?

MARY MENA, JOURNALIST: Yes, we started this day with loud sounds in the city. Caracas, Isabeli so every sound that we hear is extensive because of the acoustic of the country and the city. We heard a lot of detonations. They were not permanent. They were taking place slowly and slowly. This took place for about 45 minutes, around 45 minutes. Then we heard some helicopters flying by on planes. We didn't see anything because it was dark at that time.

It was clear that something was happening. Then later on, we learned from a statement released by the government that the attacks took place in three strategic locations in Venezuela. One in La Guaira state, that gathers the airport, the main airport that serves Caracas, the Simon Bolivar airport.

Then the other place is Aragua, which is significant because gathers many infrastructures of the military forces, and a third one in La Carlota, a couple of meters away from here, from this location that we are standing today. And we clearly saw that. And many people started to talk about that,

to send video footage, the things that they saw and they heard across the city. And it was clear that it was taking place in several locations the same time, at the same moment.

Some locations lost electricity, but the electricity is now back in many places. I never lost the power. And I could follow all the information coming from the government, for example, on a statement saying the government is declaring the government close to Nicolas Maduro, declaring a state of emergency. We don't know what that specifically means.

We know that this is called when the situation is difficult in the country. And for example, it could concentrate the blocking of some certain rights. And of course, we don't know if we can drive around the city. That is why we've been careful, along with many Venezuelans that are deciding to stay at home.

I cannot hear many bicycles or cars driving around the city. Most that I can hear is silent, dead silence for the past two and a half hours in the country. This is unprecedented for Venezuela, history in the making, considering that it's the first time in Venezuelan contemporary history that a leader of the country is taking place out of the country by foreign forces.

BLACKWELL: Mary Mena, for us there in Caracas, of course, we will learn potentially over the next few hours again what that declaration of a state of emergency means, the reaction from Venezuelans there in Caracas.

And I'll just read from the communique that was released by the government. This was, of course, before the announcement from the president, President Trump, that Maduro had been captured. One line in bold here, people to the streets. Now, that was before again, confirmation of his capture. But we'll see if that order still stands now that the leader is gone.

And Delcy Rodriguez, vice president, says that she's in control. Also what the defense minister there will order. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with more coverage of the breaking news.

President Trump confirming the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife after the U.S. launched airstrikes on Venezuela.

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[06:19:06]

BLACKWELL: More on the breaking news now out of Venezuela. President Trump confirms on Truth Social that the U.S. carried out a large scale strike overnight and that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cecilia Flores, Celia Flores, I should say, have been captured and flown out of the country.

Venezuelan government is condemning what it calls a very serious grave military aggression by the U.S. against multiple parts of the country. CNN crews witnessed several explosions in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas just before 1:00 am.

Parts of the city are now without power. The Venezuelan government has declared a state of emergency and says Caracas and the states of Miranda and Uruguay and La Guaira were all attacked. President Trump says that he will be delivering remarks from Mar-a-Lago. That's at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Let's discuss all this now with CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier and CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton.

[06:20:04]

Good morning to you both. Colonel, let me start with you and what we heard on social media from Senator Mike Lee that Julia Benbrook just read from Washington in which he says he had a conversation with the Secretary of State and Secretary Rubio informed him that the kinetic action that everyone saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant. The action likely falls within the President's inherent authority under Article 2 of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack. What's your thought on that?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON. CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. Good morning, Victor. Well, it's a bit of a stretch, you know, in terms of, you know, combining a law enforcement action with what actually is a military action. So the actual removal of a head of state, that has all kinds of ramifications from an international law perspective and certainly from a military perspective.

But it is in some ways very similar to what was done in Panama back in 1989 with Operation Just Cause, when at that time President George H.W. Bush captured the de facto leader of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, and they brought him to justice with law enforcement personnel as well as obviously military personnel to help make that arrest happen.

So there is some precedent for this kind of action within, you know, the U.S. history of these kinds of operations. But it is definitely a stretch to say that this was the protection of law enforcement personnel to conduct this operation.

BLACKWELL: Kimberly, the colonel just gave us some fairly recent precedent here with Noriega. But just outline the gravity of how the landscape has changed by what was executed by the U.S. overnight.

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, this was a classic snatch and grab raid by U.S. special operations forces. I know that we haven't confirmed which unit yet, but this is what they do. And it follows five months of gathering intelligence, the kind of intelligence you would need to take out the anti-aircraft positions, et cetera, to safely capture Maduro and his wife.

And it's going to play out as a spectacle in the U.S. court system trying him. And in the meantime, watching what happens in Venezuela next. Will the Vice President be strong enough to rally the forces? She's -- she doesn't have the force of personality that Maduro has. So will the military follow her or will someone in the military try to launch a coup against her? We could be facing a period of great instability inside Venezuela. It's not -- it's not a foregone conclusion that the opposition that the US favors will be able to take over somehow.

BLACKWELL: Yeah. Delcy Rodriguez, the Vice President, says that she's in control now, but you have this really strong Defense Minister, Vladimir, excuse me, Vladimir Padrino Lopez. Colonel, what do we need to know about him and just how delicate the next 24, 48, 72 hours will be in determining who really is in control in Caracas?

LEIGHTON: Yes, Kim is exactly right. This is going to be one of those periods where you don't know exactly how it's going to turn out. But you know, in terms of Defense Minister Pedrino Lopez, he has a lot of connections to the Cubans. He has a lot of connections ultimately to the Russians and has worked some with the Iranians.

So he has, you know, clearly had some personal exposure to the way they do things in those countries, especially on the Cuban side. And that also means that the people that work with him and for him are also potentially trained by Cubans and even Russian forces.

So the way in which Padrino Lopez handles this could very well portend a power struggle between him and the vice president who is now, you know, taking control as actors, seemingly taking control as acting president.

That could mean that the opposition is shut out of a possible power struggle, but it could also mean that they will develop a vacuum in the country and then there may be a requirement for U.S. forces to move in again in a place like this.

So this could be a story that doesn't have a neat end to it, but it really depends on how the Venezuelans act and what kinds of things happen in the streets in the next few hours.

So let's talk about that. Colonel, I'm going to stay with you because there are people who are waking up, turn on the television, they see there's an attack, and they may be smoothing over the nuances that we're discussing.

[06:25:02]

And the defense minister particularities may not be as important. They want to know, is the U.S. now at war with Venezuela? Right. And so the question I have for you is what do you expect? There was no response militarily, anything more than rhetorical to the attacks on the boats, the seizures of the oil vessels, the CIA drone attack at the port facility. So what do you expect from Venezuela as a military response, if anything, to what happened overnight?

LEIGHTON: So when you plan missions like this, you look for worst case scenarios. So I'll give you that first, then I'll tell you what I actually expect in this particular case. So the worst case scenario is that the Venezuelans activate their war plans and their plan to in essence fight off a U.S. invasion. And they've got one big problem with that scenario. The way things

have played out so far, there are no U.S. boots on the ground as far as we know. Those that did the snatch and grab of Maduro, I have, as far as we know, left the country by now and they're safely on board vessels or, you know, in some other safe territory.

But what will actually happen in this particular case I think is probably reflected by the election totals of the last presidential election in Venezuela. And those totals really favored the opposition. So what that means is that there is at least the potential that this could turn out to be something where the Venezuelans actually, in essence, remove the Maduro regime or the remnants of what passes for the Maduro regime right now and create something new.

Perhaps the opposition comes in, although they are not necessarily as unified as we might want to believe, or something else happens, but that transition is going to be the danger point. And there is also the possibility, of course, that could all go south. But that would in essence be the best scenario in a situation like this.

BLACKWELL: Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has reserved comment up to this point. Kim, what's your expectation of whether the regime survives?

DOZIER: Well, it depends on what sort of olive branch the Trump administration is going to offer the regime. The military was part and parcel of Maduro's system that kicked back oil receipts and we're told by various U.S. officials, drug profits as well. So they could also face international prosecution or prosecution in the US.

So they have to be assured that if they flip somehow they won't be hunted down by U.S. special operators or anybody else. The other problem is there's already a system built in Venezuela to support Maduro. The Chavista system is basically militias spread from neighborhood to neighborhood who already have a plan in place to build up some sort of an insurgency. Should they face outside forces or should they face a government perhaps of Maria Machado that they don't want?

So we could see a period of real violent unrest and various different factions trying to take power in the aftermath of Maduro's exit.

BLACKWELL: Kim Dozier, Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you very much as we try to understand what's next from this breaking news.

President Trump says that we'll hear directly from him about these strikes later this morning. The latest we're hearing from the White House coming up after a short break.

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[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: President Trump called the strikes in Venezuela a brilliant -- times in a brief phone interview this morning that he -- that the U.S. captured and removed President Nicolas Maduro. Now, "The Times" reports that he would not say whether he sought

congressional approval for the strike. He promised to address that at his Mar-a-Lago news conference set for later this morning. Let's bring back now CNN's Julia Benbrook. Tell us more about what the White House is saying as this played out in Venezuela.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned, Victor, we're going to hear directly from President Donald Trump at that press conference in a matter of hours, he says that's going to take place at 11:00 a.m. Eastern at Mar-a-Lago. That's where he has been spending this holiday time.

But for now, the main communication we have seen from Trump has been in a fairly short Truth Social post, and in it, he wrote that the United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader Nicolas Maduro.

He also revealed that Maduro and his wife had been out of the country. Now, he said that this operation was done in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement, and that he will provide more information at that later time. Now, in that "New York Times" interview that you referenced, this was a brief phone interview.

He called this a brilliant operation, and said this specifically. He said that it took a lot of good planning and a lot of great troops and great people. Now, of course, this is a stunning development. Every piece of this, is. But he has been teasing some sort of action there in Venezuela.

The potential of land strikes for several months now, he's either been outright saying that or publicly hinting at the possibility since mid September.

[06:35:00]

In fact, a CNN analysis of how many times he's done this came close to 20 in the last several months. There's no doubt that we're going to be getting a lot of reaction as lawmakers and others wake up. Obviously, this happened overnight, but it's already starting to trickle in.

One lawmaker that commented on this specifically was Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah. And in the early hours after the strikes, he was on social media questioning the legality of what took place. Since that first post, he has spoken directly with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and then posted on social media once again.

And we're actually getting more information from him at this point. I want to pull up that post for you in full with those specific details. Lee said that he had just gotten off the phone with Rubio. He said that Rubio informed him that Nicolas Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.

This action likely falls within the President's inherent authority under Article 2 of the constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual imminent attack. Now, he added that Rubio anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody. Lots of questions still here.

And so, of course, waiting on that press conference taking place at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, where Trump will address this. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Julia Benbrook for us there in Washington. Thank you so much. Again, that news conference happening at 11:00 a.m. from Mar-a- Lago. But we are also hearing from other members of the Senate, some Democrats as well, weighing in. We'll look into the domestic political consequences of what was ordered to happen there in Caracas and the capture of Nicolas Maduro in just a moment. Stay with us.

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[06:40:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News!

BLACKWELL: CNN has learned that President Trump did not consult the Senate Armed Services Committee before conducting these large scale land strikes in Venezuela. You'll remember in recent weeks, the President has repeatedly warned the U.S. was preparing to take new action against alleged drug trafficking networks there.

Joining me now is congressional reporter for "Axios", Stephen Neukam. Stephen, good morning to you. We've heard from several members of the Senate who point out that there was no authorization of use of military force, obviously no declaration of war.

What if -- anything, have you heard in the overnight hours and just the space in which we are now that we have no information about even notifying a gang of eight about something like this coming.

STEPHEN NEUKAM, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Yes, good morning, Victor. We haven't heard much so far obviously, since this happened overnight, we're going to have to wait for some folks to wake up and weigh in. But I think the most insight we've gotten so far is from that tweet from Republican Senator Mike Lee, who at first, I think, publicly questioned the decision here to strike Venezuela.

Absent, you know, the authorization of military force, and then came back out on Twitter and said that he spoke to Secretary Rubio, seemed to assuage his concerns. So, Republicans on Capitol Hill have given the President this year a lot of latitude in international affairs and with the military, specifically when it comes to Venezuela.

We've had a lot of boat strikes. We understand that airstrike campaign that's been leading up to this strike overnight. And Republicans have not been willing to vote for the authorization of military force in Congress and limit the President's power so far.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we have from -- let me actually go to this because you're the congressional reporter.

(CLEARS THROAT) BLACKWELL: There were some -- the administration said that they did

not need authorization for the boat strikes because it didn't involve hostilities. There were no ground troops involved. But now with this, there were at least ground troops involved to capture Maduro.

How do they reconcile what happened with even their own justification for not needing those authorizations for previous strikes?

NEUKAM: Yes, I think it goes even deeper than that, actually, Victor. I mean, if you take Democrats at their word, they were briefed a number of weeks ago by Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth on the airstrikes in Venezuela. And they said that Hegseth and Rubio looked at them and told them that this campaign was not about regime change.

Now, this is just weeks ago. Obviously, we're at a point now where they've captured the Venezuelan leader and his location is unknown. So, I think it goes deeper than just the -- you know, boots on the ground. It's really the target and the central mission of this campaign that at least, Senate Democrats and House Democrats would say that they've been misled about.

[06:45:00]

BLACKWELL: House Republican Mario Diaz-Balart posted a full-throated endorsement of what happened overnight. Let me read it. "Today's action ordered by President Trump is what decisive leadership truly looks like. Our country has faced an unprecedented national security threat from the illegitimate Maduro regime.

Unabated for years, Maduro sent drugs into our country, killing an untold number of Americans, kidnapped innocent Americans, flooded our country with violent cartel members from Tren de Aragua and the Cartel de los Soles, while destabilizing regional security."

And the statement goes on, we should also say that there are Americans here, many of them in Florida, who will celebrate the end of Maduro's leadership there, if not the end of the regime. But let's also focus on what we're hearing, likely from some people who have come to this country who are happy that Maduro is out.

NEUKAM: Absolutely. And I think that, you know, the President understands that especially when you frame this in the frame of narco terrorism and the drug trafficking, I think that they think that, that is a message that, you know, works for the public.

But I think that there are opponents of the administration, Democrats will say that this is not about narco terrorism or drug trafficking, that this is about oil, and this is about regime change.

So, this is a -- you know, in the aftermath of this, something that will be litigated for honestly for years and years as we go forward, but at least, immediately, it seems like the White House and Republicans are going to frame this as an operation to take out somebody who was aiding and abetting narco terrorists. And you know, sort of overseeing the flow of drugs coming into the U.S. BLACKWELL: Stephen Neukam, thank you so much. President Trump

announces the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife after the U.S. launched a military operation in Venezuela. We'll take a quick break and we'll be right back.

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[06:50:00]

BLACKWELL: We're now hours away from a scheduled news conference at Mar-a-Lago. President Trump will give new details about the military operation in Venezuela. Senator Mike Lee says the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio told him that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been arrested to stand trial in the U.S.

Now, this comes as the U.S. military has been sharply increasing its forces in the Caribbean for months. With me now from Washington, CNN national security reporter Haley Britzky. Haley, what are you learning?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, so, Victor, just a really remarkable last few hours here, as the President says that the U.S. has carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela. He thanked some great troops in his social media posts, and though he doesn't provide specifics about what military assets were included here.

There is some reporting that we can kind of glean some information from here. CNN's reported that dual rotor aircraft, helicopters were seen in the airspace over Caracas, but likely meaning Chinook helicopters. Chinook helicopters are heavy-lift troop carriers.

And one of the things they can do for the U.S. military is provide insertion and extraction of U.S. personnel. And so, while we don't know exactly what assets from where were involved in this operation, we kind of are seeing some open source reporting there.

And the source familiar -- a source familiar told me that the Senate Armed Services Committee was not briefed on this ahead of time. And the President says he's going to address that at 11:00 a.m. But as you said, I mean, this operation comes as there's been a sharp increase in U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, in the region.

We know that there are roughly 15,000 U.S. troops who were deployed there. Guided missile destroyers, cruisers, the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, which is the largest aircraft carrier in the world. The Ford, which includes nine squadrons, air squadrons embarked on that carrier.

So, this is a heavy amount of firepower that's been in the region, really underscoring how serious the President has been, in his words, and his -- this pressure campaign from the U.S. -- from the White House against Maduro and Venezuela.

And so, we're waiting to hear more from the President about what exactly this looked like. We have not heard directly from the Pentagon or from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They've simply re-shared statements from the White House and from the President.

So, certainly looking to see which assets were included here, it's likely special operations forces were involved, though, that we haven't been told that directly quite yet. And so, there's a lot of pieces here that would be moving, certainly, the protection of U.S. personnel of the utmost importance.

When you're planning an operation like this, it's certainly not something that comes together overnight, planning that goes into this is very intense and extreme. And so, it will be interesting to hear more from the President in just a couple of hours on sort of what that has looked like and what this will look like going forward.

BLACKWELL: Haley, I'll admit, before we go into this question that maybe you don't know the answer to this because we have not heard much from the administration. But is there any indication that U.S. allies were notified of this strike and this attempt to capture before it was executed?

BRITZKY: We haven't seen a ton of indication here. I mean, like we said, you know, the Senate Armed Services Committee, who typically is read in on things like this, say that they were not notified ahead of time.

[06:55:00]

And so, this seems like something that was being planned for quite a while. How much the President told allies in the region about this is certainly top of mind, and a question that I'm sure he'll be asked at this press conference at 11:00 a.m. And it's something that I think a lot of allies in the region are going to be having conversations with the White House about going forward.

BLACKWELL: Haley Britzky, thank you so much. And of course, we'll have more on our breaking news coverage at the top of the hour. Again, President Trump to speak at 11:00 a.m. at a news conference at Mar-a- Lago already confirmed a U.S. strike in Venezuela.

He said that Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife have been captured. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News!

BLACKWELL: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING, I'm Victor Blackwell in Atlanta, and we are following breaking --