US mobilizes all-out offensive weapons, defense stocks surge, helicopter leader critically injured, 'diplomatic gamble'

US mobilizes all-out offensive weapons, defense stocks surge, helicopter leader critically injured, 'diplomatic gamble'

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The arrest of Maduro, which mobilized all-out US offensive weapons, has revealed itself as a "diplomatic gamble" that nearly failed, with US defense stocks soaring and the helicopter leader critically injured.

The New York Times reported on the 17th, "A massive twin-rotor MH-47 Chinook was hit but still airworthy, and the flight leader, who planned the mission and piloted the Chinook, was shot three times in the leg." "While the damaged helicopter hovered in the air, struggling to land troops on the target, the success of the operation, dubbed 'Absolute Resolve,' involving more than 150 aircraft from 20 land and sea bases, remained uncertain."

The attack began in the early morning of the 3rd, with US Army attack helicopters skimming the sea 100 feet above the sky and speeding towards their targets over the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Their covert route was secured after US cyberattacks plunged Caracas into total darkness, and US F-35 radar-evading fighter jets preemptively struck Venezuela's Russian-made air defenses.

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Reuters reported on the 17th, "Stealth fighters were deployed to control the skies, jets were deployed to disrupt enemy air defenses, and covert reconnaissance drones and satellites were deployed to provide commanders with real-time intelligence. The US mobilized all its weapons, including helicopters, fighters, tankers, and drones. This was a significant achievement for the US defense industry, and China is likely to take note."

The strikes involved Lockheed and Boeing aircraft, including Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growlers, Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptors, Northrop Grumman's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and B-1 bombers, and more than 150 rotary-wing, fixed-wing, and unmanned aircraft. Lockheed shares surged 6.2% this week, Northrop rose 4.4%, and Textron rose 3.5% immediately after Maduro's arrest.

Reuters analyzed that "the mission signaled to adversaries that the United States is capable of complex overseas operations at a time of heightened tensions with China," and that it was a signal to China that "China is rapidly expanding and modernizing its military presence in the Pacific."

The New York Times reported, "The Chinook from the first attack did not crash, and the seriously injured squadron leader, with the help of his co-pilot, successfully landed, unloaded the commandos, and guided the aircraft back to the warship Iwo Jima off the Venezuelan coast." "A search and rapid response unit on standby was prepared to expand the personnel transfer if necessary."

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By 2:01 a.m. in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, more than 80 Army commandos had disembarked from helicopters, including the damaged Chinook.

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After a fierce exchange of fire with President Maduro's Cuban security team, the commandos blew open the door to Maduro's bedroom, and his wife was captured by the commandos as she attempted to escape to a steel-reinforced room.

A new helicopter assault force quickly moved in and escorted the commandos and their captives out of the base, fighting through enemy fire as they made their escape. Finally, by 4:29 a.m., the attack helicopters flew back to sea and delivered Maduro and his wife to the aircraft carrier Iwo Jima.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on the 6th that an unidentified squadron leader was seriously injured and was recovering in a Texas hospital along with another wounded soldier. Five other soldiers were treated for their injuries and released.

Approximately 40 Venezuelans were killed in the operation, as were 32 Cuban soldiers assigned to Maduro's security detail.

The MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator (a special assault helicopter equipped with advanced weapon systems) and Boeing Little Bird M/AH-6M light attack and support helicopters were among the dead. The attack team was supported by Boeing CH-47 Chinook medium-lift helicopters, which transported troops and equipment in a combat environment.

AH-64 Apache attack helicopters equipped with Hellfire missiles and 30mm chain guns provided close air support during the withdrawal phase. The fighters that disrupted Russian air defenses over Venezuelan airspace included Lockheed F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters, capable of evading advanced radar systems.

The F-35s operated alongside the F-22 Raptor, a fighter designed to hunt enemy aircraft, and were joined by the Navy's main strike aircraft, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and the EA-18G Growler, a specialized electronic warfare variant designed to jam enemy communications and radar, making it difficult for ground-based air defenses to track and fire on the attacking aircraft.

Long-range strike capability was provided by B-1B Lancer supersonic bombers, which were prepared to drop precision-guided munitions beyond air defense range.

These aircraft required aerial refueling from Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, operating aerial refueling platforms that extended the operational range of both bombers and fighters throughout the mission. The commando strikes were conducted with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance as the primary focus.

The Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, a carrier-based early warning aircraft, provided threat detection during the commando entry and battle management.

Reuters reported, "The RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone, used in the 2011 raid to find Osama bin Laden, conducted covert reconnaissance, while additional satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles provided real-time intelligence to ground commanders."

The report also stated, "Following Operation Midnight Hammer, the airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities, the defense industry received an hour-long briefing detailing equipment capabilities and operational challenges, and this time, the defense industry will be briefed on which equipment was and was not operational." Seth G. Jones, a senior national security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told the Times, "They're walking a very delicate line, and the risk of failure is very high. Sometimes there are factors beyond their control."

Elliot Ackerman, a Marine who served in the CIA's Special Operations Division, said of the operations of elite U.S. military units:

"They train meticulously and execute operations with incredible precision, but even the best-planned and executed military operations are subject to uncertainty, which can have long-term consequences," he told the Times. "The moment an American soldier is killed or captured, the political calculations change. That's why it's very dangerous to build foreign policy around these types of operations. You can't keep going to the craps table and expect to lose."

See <Trump's Military Government's Diplomatic Removal of Dictators, Economic Sanctions Blocking Defense Rights, Domestic Law Punishment, January 5, 2026>

<Venezuelan Interim President Rodriguez, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Economy, 'Perfect Leftist,' January 4, 2026>