Photographs capturing Donald Trump and his close advisers within the confines of the Mar-a-Lago situation room reveal an intense focus on social media platform X during the unfolding strike against Venezuela. These images provide a unique glimpse into the inner workings of Trump’s team as they navigated this high-stakes operation.
On Saturday, Trump announced a significant military endeavor, stating that U.S. forces successfully apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. This bold move was disclosed during his appearance on Fox News, where he recounted monitoring the entire operation from a makeshift war room at his Florida residence.
The released images depict Trump surrounded by key figures, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Central Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe, and General Dan Caine, as they prepared for the critical strikes. Their expressions and body language reflect the gravity of the situation.
Observant viewers quickly noticed that the administration seemed acutely attuned to the social media buzz surrounding the Venezuelan raid, particularly on the platform X.com. This suggests that real-time online reactions were a significant factor in their strategic considerations.
The photographs show Trump and his team dressed in formal attire and gathered in a room that appears to be enclosed with black curtains, adding an air of secrecy and urgency to the setting. These images, released by the White House, offer a rare, candid look at the administration’s approach to international crises.
The two images released by the White House show Trump and his team in suits, huddled inside a room draped in what appear to be black curtains.
In the background, a large wall-mounted television reveals that the president’s close allies had searched for ‘Venezuela’ on X, with the results clearly displayed on the screen.
The unprecedented military operation sent explosions ripping across Caracas overnight, with Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab insisting that ‘innocents’ were ‘mortally wounded’ by the US strike.
Images showed Donald Trump and his inner circle glued to X inside his Mar-a-Lago situation room as a strike tied to Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro’s capture unfolded
Trump revealed what he described as an overnight ‘large-scale strike’ in Venezuela, declaring that US forces had captured President Nicolás Maduro (pictured) and his wife
In the White House-released photos, a large wall-mounted TV revealed that the president’s team had searched for ‘Venezuela’ on X, with the results displayed on the screen
However, a source told CNN that the operation – which targeted five Venezuelan sites, including three in the capital of Caracas – caused no casualties.
Overnight, Trump posted on Truth Social that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured.
‘The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,’ the president wrote at 4:21am.
He also added that the operation ‘was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement’.
According to CNN, Maduro and his wife were captured in their beds by an elite Delta Force unit, with Trump announcing they had been taken to the USS Iwo Jima before being transported to New York City.
Throughout the night, aircraft launched from 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere toward Venezuela. Gen. Caine said the mission – officially dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve – involved more than 50 aircraft.
‘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,’ Caine said during a Saturday press conference.
American helicopters, shielded by drones, bombers and fighter jets, approached the shore as the US dismantled and disabled Venezuela’s air defenses and deployed weapons.
The unprecedented military operation sent explosions ripping across Venezuela’s capital of Caracas overnight
Overnight, Trump posted on Truth Social that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in their beds
Aircraft launched from 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere toward Venezuela. The mission – officially dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve – involved more than 50 aircraft
‘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,’ Caine added.
US forces and the FBI entered the compound, where, according to CBS, Maduro and his wife ‘gave up’ and were taken into custody.
‘He was trying to get into a safe place,’ Mr. Trump told reporters early Saturday. ‘The safe place is all steel, and he wasn’t able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast.’
Later on Saturday, Maduro and his wife arrived at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, where he is set to face drug and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court next week.
Around 30 minutes after cops boarded the plane, several figures including Maduro were seen slowly disembarking the aircraft flanked by a group of officials.
The captured Venezuelan leader appeared in handcuffs, wearing the same outfit seen earlier today in a photograph taken aboard the US jet.
A federal grand jury indicted Maduro on charges accusing him of plotting to smuggle ‘thousands of tons’ of cocaine into the US for the benefit of himself, his family and top members of the Venezuelan government.
Maduro and 14 others were first indicted in March 2020 in the Southern District of New York during Trump’s first administration.
Maduro and his wife arrived at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, where he is set to face drug and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court next week
A federal grand jury indicted Maduro on charges accusing him of plotting to smuggle ‘thousands of tons’ of cocaine into the US for the benefit of himself, his family and top members of the Venezuelan government
Trump announced that the US will take control of Venezuela, with Rubio and Hegseth working as a ‘team’ alongside the ‘people of Venezuela’
The indictment, unsealed on Saturday, named both Maduro and his wife as defendants, along with his son, the current and former interior ministers and the leader of the gang Tren de Aragua.
It alleges that for more than 25 years, ‘leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,’ as reported by CBS News.
Prosecutors called Maduro the ‘forefront of the corruption,’ alleging that he and his associates collaborated with drug traffickers and narco-terrorists to flood the US with drugs.
At a press conference this morning in Florida, joined at the podium by Hegseth and Rubio, Trump spoke for an hour about the strike.
He announced that the US will take control of Venezuela, with Rubio and Hegseth working as a ‘team’ alongside the ‘people of Venezuela.’
Trump said he wasn’t opposed to ‘boots on the ground,’ but did not confirm whether US forces would remain in Venezuela or how the country would function without Maduro in custody.
However, he declared that opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado will not replace Maduro and that his administration has not been in contact with her.
Rubio also defended the administration’s decision to bypass Congressional approval before the raid.
Top Venezuelan officials condemned the military operation and threatened to resist US involvement – a direct challenge to Trump, who declared the US will ‘run’ Venezuela and take over its oil reserves
Maduro’s chosen vice president, Delcy Rodríguez (pictured), whom Trump said assumed the presidency Saturday, condemned Maduro’s capture as ‘barbaric,’ ‘an illegal and illegitimate kidnapping’
Prosecutors called Maduro the ‘forefront of the corruption,’ alleging that he and his associates collaborated with drug traffickers and narco-terrorists to flood the US with drugs
Hours after Maduro’s capture, top Venezuelan officials condemned the military operation and threatened to resist US involvement – a direct challenge to Trump, who declared the US will ‘run’ Venezuela and take over its oil reserves.
Maduro’s chosen vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, whom Trump said assumed the presidency Saturday, condemned Maduro’s capture as ‘barbaric,’ ‘an illegal and illegitimate kidnapping,’ and an assault on Venezuela’s sovereignty, according to CBS.
Rodríguez called for the ‘immediate release’ of Maduro and his wife, insisting he is ‘the only president of Venezuela.’
Just hours earlier, Trump said he believed Rodríguez was ‘essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.’
Maduro faces four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices.
