Nigeria: Trump to honor elite troops who captured Venezuela’s Maduro

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria

U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Friday to meet the special‑forces unit that carried out the January raid in Caracas that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. First Lady Melania Trump will join him for the visit, which includes a ceremony with military families and the troops involved in what the White House calls “Operation Absolute Resolve.”

According to officials, the operation began with helicopter‑borne assaults and airstrikes on Venezuelan military targets before the troops entered a heavily guarded compound on January 3. Venezuelan authorities reported 83 deaths and more than 112 injuries, while no U.S. service members were killed.

Maduro is now detained in the United States, where he faces drug‑trafficking and other charges and has entered a not‑guilty plea; his next court appearance is set for March 17 in New York. Trump has repeatedly praised the mission as a showcase of U.S. military power, describing the troops as “unbelievably talented, patriotic people” and hinting at a classified “discombobulator” device that disabled Venezuelan equipment during the raid.