U.S. Operation Absolute Resolve: Military Capture and Direct Economic Control of Venezuela

Key Quotes

"This is truly historic that's absolutely true and it's here we have been watching this pressure campaign build on president maduro in venezuela for the last several months but to go in with special operations forces in the dead of night and seize the leader of a country is really extraordinary you have to go back to 1989 when the us military carried out an operation a similar operation to go after then the president of panama manuel noriega a much larger force went in on the ground and ended up spending quite a bit of time there because it wasn't an in and out operation like this was so you're right this really is in your words audacious"

Schmitt highlights the unprecedented nature of the operation, comparing it to the 1989 capture of Manuel Noriega. He emphasizes that seizing a sitting foreign leader in a swift, "in and out" operation is a remarkable and audacious exercise of American power. This quote underscores the historical significance and boldness of the action.

"Now in addition to that the cia was able to basically get an informant on the inside inside the government who could basically relay maduro's location you know where he was going at any given moment and that allowed the cia and the military to also conduct stealthy drone flights overhead so if he were to travel somewhere in the country they could keep an eye on him"

Schmitt explains how intelligence gathering was crucial to the operation's success. The CIA's ability to place an informant within the Venezuelan government provided real-time location data for Maduro. This information enabled stealthy drone surveillance, demonstrating a sophisticated intelligence network supporting the military action.

"So the planning for this operation really goes back several months to the summertime this is when the administration is first considering what they called phase one which would have been to strike boats trafficking what they believed were narcotics going to the united states in the caribbean and later the eastern pacific but there was also a phase two that was less well known but through our reporting revealed that the administration was considering a follow on phase that would use the army's delta force to conduct land strikes and ultimately an operation to oust president maduro of venezuela"

Schmitt details the multi-phase planning process for the operation. He reveals that the administration considered a two-phase approach, starting with strikes against drug trafficking boats and progressing to a more direct operation involving Delta Force to remove Maduro. This quote illustrates the strategic evolution and escalating intentions behind the mission.

"So the president kind of teased a little bit of this before his press conference in an interview with fox and friends was this delta force guys was he talked about you know the commando operation going so well they're the most highly trained soldiers in the world there's nobody that has their talent because it's talent it's not just it's not just bravery it's bravery you have to have the bravery but it's talent all the preparation of this operation that they'd even the special operations forces had even built a mock house they actually built a house which was identical to the one they went into with all the safes and all the steel all over the place and a maduro house somewhere in the united states and this is standard this happened in the bin laden raid again in 2011 where they build basically a facsimile model of the actual house or target building they're going to strike and they just practice it until they can basically do it in their sleep"

Schmitt describes the meticulous preparation undertaken by the special operations forces. He highlights the construction of a mock house identical to Maduro's residence for extensive practice, a tactic also used in the Osama bin Laden raid. This quote emphasizes the high level of training and rehearsal involved, showcasing the precision required for such missions.

"The president basically says we're going to run the country you can almost kind of hear a gasp in the audience it's like run the country the us is going to run venezuela so who's in power right now well we're going to be running it with a group and we're going to make sure it's run properly we're going to rebuild the oil infrastructure which will of course billions of dollars it'll be paid for by the oil companies directly yeah we're going to go in there first thing we're going to do is going to bring in you know the oil companies venezuela sits on some of the largest oil reserves in the world and we're going to get the oil flowing the way it should be"

Schmitt reports on the president's surprising declaration of intent to run Venezuela. He notes the audience's reaction to this statement, which signals a direct US involvement in managing the country's affairs and rebuilding its oil infrastructure. This quote reveals a significant shift in US policy and a direct interventionist approach.

"The president sees this certainly in this the way he talked about venezuela as being good for the united states it's very clear cut these are economic gains that the united states is going to make and they're going to profit off of this investment in venezuela he thinks of that in his businessman's terms and i think that's kind of the danger is that you've gone in you've replaced this leader he now thinks it's going to be fairly easy just as you might install a new board of directors or new ceo and you know the country's going to suddenly prosper under the us supervision and uh it's so much more complicated than that"

Schmitt analyzes the president's rationale for the intervention, framing it through an "America First" economic lens. He suggests the president views the operation as a business investment that will yield direct economic benefits for the United States. Schmitt expresses concern that this simplistic, businessman's perspective overlooks the complex realities of nation-building and governance.