U.S. forces were prepared to destroy three airfields if it appeared that fighters belonging to the Venezuelan Air Force were attempting to scramble and intercept the force sent to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro earlier this month. Planners were also concerned that as many as 75 air defense sites might sit between American forces and their objective. These and other new operational details are contained in a heavily redacted legal memo the U.S. Department of Justice released earlier this week.
The memo was written by T. Elliot Gaiser, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice, and is dated December 23, 2025. Its primary purpose is to address questions of the legality of the mission, which was nicknamed Operation Absolute Resolve and ultimately carried out on the night of January 2-3. President Donald Trump’s administration has argued that capturing Maduro and his wife was a law enforcement action with military support and that, by extension, it was not constrained by various U.S. and international laws surrounding the employment of American forces and armed conflict more generally. The legal justifications remain a controversial topic subject to much debate.
It is important to note that the operational planning details contained in the memo, per Gaiser, were as of December 22. It has been reported that the Trump administration had originally planned to launch the operation on Christmas Day, but that it was delayed in deference to unrelated strikes targeting ISIS terrorists in Nigeria. The memo notably says that Maduro was assumed to be the only target of the operation. The unredacted portions indicate his wife – described in a footnote as being “‘known to be more aggressive and combative’ than her husband” – was expected to be with him, but not captured. What else may have changed plan-wise between December 22 and January 3 is unknown.
“The War Department has identified three airfields that may be destroyed should it appear that fighters are being assembled there to intercept the assault force,” the memo says. “The airfields will not be struck otherwise as they are dual use for military and civilian purposes.”
There are no clear indications that Venezuela’s Russian-made Su-30MK2V Flankers or U.S.-built F-16s made any real attempt to respond to the American operation. Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base in Caracas, also known as La Carlota, in Caracas, as well as Higuerote Airport, which lies on the coast east of the capital, were targeted, but more likely due to the presence of air defense assets on the ground. Neither of these facilities is known to host fighters.
“The War Department had advised that Maduro spends considerable time at Fort Tiuna [Fuerte Tiuna], a fortified location at the southern end of Caracas, [redacted],” the memo also explains. “It is expected that U.S. forces will face heavy resistance on the approach.”
In the memo, Gaiser says that “the intelligence community has suggested that – notwithstanding his public posturing – Maduro may not currently have the capacity to engage in the kind of ‘significant armed resistance’” and that there are “questions about whether the Venezuelan army is also less than entirely loyal.”
However, “throughout our discussions, there has never been a suggestion that forces within Fort Tiuna will do anything other than go down fighting” and “it is indisputable that if Fort Tiuna were in the United States rather than Venezuela, there would be a sufficient threat of armed resistance,” he added.
On top of that, “there may be as many as 75 anti-aircraft battery sites along the approach route to Fort Tiuna,” the Assistant Attorney General wrote.
Moreover, we have been orally advised that there are estimated to be [redacted],” the memo continues. “These weapons, [redacted] are capable of downing the helicopters carrying the assault and retrieval force.”
Well before Operation Absolute Resolve was launched, TWZ did a deep-dive into Venezuela’s relatively limited air defense capabilities and the very real threats they could still present, including to a heliborne assault force. In particular, prior to the mission, Venezuelan forces claimed to have access to some 5,000 Russian-made Igla-S (SA-24 Grinch) shoulder-fired heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles, also known as man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). MANPADS, in general, pose a significant danger to low and slow-flying helicopters, compounded by their ability to pop up with little, if any, prior warning. The location of MANPADS can also be very hard to pin down and then plan around prior to an operation. We have previously highlighted how larger road-mobile surface-to-air missile systems in Venezuela’s arsenal could present similar complications, as well.
“As of December 22, 2025, the proposed assault force will include approximately [redacted] within Venezuelan territory; [and] an [redacted] assault force carried by helicopters [redacted],” according to the memo. “Before the assault force arrives at Fort Tiuna, approximately [redacted] aircraft comprising [redacted] will serve as an escort and clear emplaced anti-aircraft batteries as needed.”
The apparent reference to a clandestine force in place in advance is notable. It has been widely reported now that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had infiltrated operatives weeks ahead of the mission, but their role has been largely framed as having been to monitor Maduro’s movements and establish his so-called “pattern of life,” as well as to gather other intelligence. Elements of the Department of Justice, including FBI agents, also took part in the operation, but are not understood to have been present in the country beforehand.
Otherwise, the details here align with what has already emerged about the final Operation Absolute Resolve force package, which included a 200-strong force of special operations led by elements of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force. MH-60 Black Hawk and MH-47 Chinook helicopters from the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, better known as the Night Stalkers, carried that force to and from Fuerte Tiuna. Some of the MH-60s were configured as gunships, also known as Direct Action Penetrators (DAP), and provided close air support for the main force.
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