It was just before 2am in Caracas when the rumbling of MH-60 Black Hawk and MH-47 Chinook helicopters was heard overhead.
Homes began shaking, with windows rattling, as at least half a dozen of the aircraft passed low over the Venezuelan capital. Some people started filming.
Then the bombing began, and the night sky was filled with bright orange fireballs and explosions.
After months of warnings and threats, followed by an ominous silence over Christmas, Donald Trump, the US President, finally pulled the trigger on Nicolas Maduro’s “narco-terrorist” Government.
At least seven explosions rang out in Caracas and in three Venezuelan states.
Gustavo Petro, the president of neighbouring Colombia, issued a panicked plea to the world on social media.
![After months of warnings and threats, US President Donald Trump finally pulled the trigger on Nicolas Maduro's [inset] 'narco-terrorist' Government on Saturday. Composite photo NZME](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/GP4DS4G4BZGODFYTLVMU7SADNE.jpg?auth=61a94c2ec4c3e938ddf6818b493531eb7015e7c495841dfb3ca9145ffc7de0dc&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
“Right now, they are bombing Caracas. Alert to the whole world, they have attacked Venezuela. They are bombing with missiles,” he wrote, as he demanded an “immediate” meeting of the United Nations.
It was far too late for a New York summit to stop what the Trump Administration was unleashing.
As Venezuelan officials declared a state of emergency, US forces carried out a targeted bombing campaign on key military sites, including Maduro’s Army headquarters in Caracas.
Within minutes, civilians near those areas were seen sprinting for safety, fleeing explosions and the roar of US aircraft, while flames and great plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the capital’s skyline.
One Venezuelan in his 40s told the Telegraph of the moment the operation began: “I woke up at 1am to a big, loud noise and checked social media. I started to realise that it’s happening, what a lot of Venezuelans want right now – it’s freedom.”
There was no sign of Maduro himself on the nation’s television screens or the airwaves, though the New York Times was being assured by its sources that “at least some” in his inner circle were safe.
By 3am, it was becoming clear that this was a targeted operation to cripple the Venezuelan military and perhaps also topple its political leadership.
At least three military bases were hit, including Fort Tiuna, the headquarters of the Venezuelan Defence Ministry. The site also contains the Army’s food production centre, the official residence of the Venezuelan vice-president and a vast complex of homes for the country’s military elite.
US forces then struck La Carlota, the main Air Base of Caracas, which was bombed during Hugo Chavez’s failed coup of 1992, as well as the El Volcan signals base and La Guaira, the country’s main port.
The barrage of explosions may have distracted Venezuela’s leadership from another, more secretive mission that was unfolding under their noses – one that involved Delta Force, the US special forces unit.
Curiously, there was still no word from Maduro, even as his Government issued a statement on his behalf which accused the US of waging “colonial war”.
Then, an utterly astonishing message flashed up on Trump’s Truth Social network:
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, were in the bedroom of the Miraflores Palace, his official residence, when it was raided by US special forces, CNN reported.
Both were asleep when the raid began, two sources told the US broadcaster, with Delta Force operatives crashing into the bedroom and detaining them.
They were then taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a Wasp-class US amphibious assault warship by helicopter. From there, they were transferred to New York City and charged with narco-terrorism offences.
According to the New York Times, their swift capture was made possible by a CIA source embedded in the Venezuelan Government.
The US newspaper reported that the spy had been sending reports on Maduro’s location in the days leading up to the attack.
It is unknown how the mole was recruited, or what position they held in the Venezuelan Government, but Washington’s US$50m reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture may have encouraged them to come forward.
Trump’s statement brought an abrupt end to speculation that he might have committed himself to a long, gruelling war in Latin America, with the aim of deposing Maduro.
Within just a few hours, that goal had already been achieved. Maduro was heading to the US to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges, Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, said.
Inevitably, comparisons were made with Vladimir Putin’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine, which had similarly aimed to decapitate the Ukrainian leadership within a few days. Unlike Trump, Putin, of course, failed miserably.
It was noted that the operation seemed to be highly targeted and spared many Venezuelan military sites, suggesting that the goal may simply have been rapid regime change.
This was an operation that was months in the making, and it is no secret that the Trump Administration long considered the ousting of Maduro as one of their main options.
Since coming to power in 2013, Maduro has plunged Venezuela into authoritarianism and economic turmoil. He is widely suspected of having rigged his victory in last year’s presidential elections.
But Trump’s animosity towards the 63-year-old socialist, who worked as a bus driver before entering politics, goes much deeper than that.
The US blames Maduro for the passage of hundreds of thousands of migrants, including many criminals, across its southern borders, and Trump has branded the regime a narco-terrorist “dictatorship”.
In addition to offering bounties for information that could lead to Maduro’s arrest, in December, the US launched airstrikes on a Venezuelan port that was allegedly being used by Tren de Aragua, a major drug cartel.
Also that month, the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which it said was “used to transport sanctioned oil” from Venezuela and Iran. And, since August, the US has deployed some 15,000 troops in the Caribbean.
As Trump would explain after launching his attack, his two main grievances with Venezuela could be summed up as “drugs” and “empty[ing] prisons into the US”.
Trump watched “every aspect” of the raid on video from a special room in Florida, alongside US generals and other senior officials.
He said: “I mean, I watched it literally like I was watching a television show. If you would’ve seen the speed, the violence – it was an amazing thing.”
The US President said the operation was “extremely complex” and required a “massive” number of fighter jets and helicopters, as well as complicated landings.
He praised the “amazing professionalism and quality of the leadership” of the soldiers involved in the operation.
There were “a few injuries but no deaths on our side”, added Trump.
In Caracas, many Venezuelans will be pleased to see the back of Maduro – even if it is at the hands of Trump, who is known by some as the “blonde Hugo Chavez”, referring to the Venezuelan revolutionary who was Maduro’s mentor.
“People here are excited. We want to overthrow the Government, that we didn’t want, and that we hate a lot,” one man in Caracas told the Telegraph.
“People are happy, but afraid at the same time, because we don’t know what’s going to happen...
“Imagine yourself living 27 years in a country where you cannot speak what you think. Now, you can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and that is amazing.”
What made Maduro’s arrest particularly astonishing is that hours before it began, he had been meeting envoys from China, the most powerful supporter of his regime.
Indeed, just two days before, Maduro had spoken of his ambition to reach a deal with Trump that would have avoided military action.
It was previously reported that the Venezuelan leader was hoping he might negotiate immunity from prosecution or keep the vast amount of wealth he has amassed over a decade in power if he agreed to step down.
There has also been speculation that handing over the country’s oil reserves might have been what the Trump Administration truly desired all along.
But that is all academic now: as the sun started to rise over Caracas, the Venezuelan leader was in custody of US special forces, and en route to America.
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