General Dan “Razin” Caine is the 22nd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Thank you, Mr. Secretary. 
Thank you, Mr. President, and good morning. Last night, on the order of the President of the United States, and in support of a request from the Department of Justice, as the President said, the United States Military conducted an apprehension mission in Caracas, Venezuela, to bring to justice two indicted persons, Nicholas and Cecile Maduro.

This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discrete, precise, and conducted during the darkest hours of January 2nd, and was the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal, an operation that, frankly, only the United States military could undertake. 
What I’d like to do this morning is talk to you through some of the preparation and the details without compromising any of our tactics, techniques, and procedures.

There is always a chance that we’ll be tasked to do this type of mission again. Our interagency work began months ago and built on decades of experience of integrating complex air, ground, space, and maritime operations. 
While the past two decades have honed the skills of our special operations forces, this particular mission required every component of our joint force, with soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and guardians working in unison with our intelligence agency partners and law enforcement teammates in an unprecedented operation.

We leveraged our unmatched intelligence capabilities, and our years of experience in hunting terrorists. And we could not have done this mission without the incredible work by various intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA and NGA. 
We watched, we waited, we prepared, we remained patient and professional.

This mission was meticulously planned, drawing lessons from decades of missions over the last many years, decades, many missions over these last, many years. This was an audacious operation that only the United States could do. 
It required the utmost of precision and integration within our joint force. And the word integration does not explain the sheer complexity of such a mission, an extraction so precise, it involved more than 150 aircraft launching across the western hemisphere, in close coordination, all coming together, in time and place, to layer effects for a single purpose, to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas, while maintaining the the element of tactical surprise.

Failure of one component of this well oiled machine would have endangered the entire mission, and failure is never an option for America’s joint force. 
Those in the air, over Caracas last night, were willing to give their lives for those on the ground and in the helicopters. Let me talk a little bit about the preparation. After months of work by our intelligence teammates, to find Maduro and understand how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets.

In early December, our force was set, pending a series of aligned events. He was choosing the right day to minimize the potential for civilian harm and maximize the element of surprise and minimize the harm to the indicted personnel, so, as the president said, they could be brought to justice. And as the President said earlier today, whether in Venezuela is always a factor this time of the year. 
And over the weeks, through Christmas and New Year’s, the men and women of the United States military sat ready, patiently waiting for the right triggers to be met, and the president’s order us into action.

Last night, the weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through. Ocean, mountain, low cloud ceilings, but when tasked with a mission, this organization does not quit. 
At 10:46 p.m. Eastern time last night, the president ordered the United States military to move forward with this mission. He said to us, and we appreciated it, Mr. President, good luck, and Godspeed.

And those words were transmitted to the entire joint force. Over the course of the night, aircraft began launching from 20 different bases on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere. In total, more than 150 aircraft bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, rotary wing, were in the air last night. 
Thousands and thousands of hours of experience were airborne. Our youngest crew member was 20, and our oldest crew member was 49. And there’s simply no match for American military might.

As the night began, the helicopters took off with the extraction force, which included law enforcement officers, and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the water. As they approached Venezuelan shores, the United States began layering different effects provided by Spacecom, Cybercom, and other members of the interagency to create a pathway. Overhead, those forces were protected from aircraft, were protected by aircraft from the United States Marines. 
The United States Navy, the United States Air Force and the Air National Guard. The force included F 22s, F 35s, F 18s, EA 18s, E2s, B1 bombers, and other support aircraft, as well as numerous remotely piloted drones. As the force began to approach Caracas, the joint air component began dismantling and disabling the air defense systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area.

The goal of our air component is, was, and always will be, to protect the helicopters and the ground force and get them to the target and get them home. As the force crossed the last point of high terrain, where they’d been hiding in the clutter, we assessed that we had maintained totally the element of surprise. As the helicopter force ingressed towards the objective at low level, we arrived at Maduro’s compound at 101 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, or 201 a.m. Caracas local time.

And the apprehension force descended into Maduro’s compound, and moved with speed, precision, and discipline towards their objective, and isolated the area to ensure the safety and security of the ground force while apprehending the indicted persons. On arrival into the target area, the helicopters came under fire, and they replied with that fire with overwhelming force and self-defense. One of our aircraft was hit, but remained flyable, and as the president said earlier today, all of our aircraft came home, and that aircraft remained flyable during the rest of the mission.

As the operation unfolded at the compound, our air and ground intelligence teams provided real-time updates to the ground force, ensuring those forces could safely navigate the complex environment without unnecessary risk. The force remained protected by overhead tactical aviation. Maduro and his wife, both indicted, gave up, and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice, assisted by our incredible U.S. military, with professionalism and precision, with no loss of U.S. life. 
After securing the indicted persons, the force began to prep for departure. Helicopters were called in to exfiltrate the extraction force, while fighter aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire. There were multiple self-defense engagements as the force began to withdraw out of Venezuela.

The force successfully exfiltrated and returned to their afloat launch bases, and the force was over the water at 3:29 a.m. Eastern Standard Time with indicted persons on board. And both Maduro and his wife were embarked aboard the USS Iwigima. In closing, what we’ve witnessed today is a powerful demonstration of America’s joint force. 
We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, not to get it right, but to ensure that we cannot get it wrong. Our jobs are to integrate combat power, so when the order comes, we can deliver overwhelming force at the time and the place of our choosing against any foe, anywhere in the world.

I am immensely proud today of our joint force and filled with gratitude to represent them here today. 
There is simply no mission too difficult for these incredible professionals and the families that stand by them and support them. As we stand here this morning, our forces remain in the region at a high state of readiness, prepared to project power, defend themselves, and our interests in the region. This operation is a testament to the dedication and unwavering commitment to justice and our resolve to hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability. 
In closing, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the brave men and women who executed this mission; their courage and tireless commitment to our nation are what makes us strong. Thank you, Mr. Secretary and thank you.

Categories: Robert Clifton Robinson