Live updates: Venezuela will be 'run’ by US after capture of Maduro, Trump says

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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine listen as Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at Trump’s news conference that U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and the clothes he wore.

“We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again, and again,” Caine said, saying his forces were “set” by early December. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”

Trump said on Fox that U.S. forces had practiced their extraction on a replica building.

“They actually built a house which was identical to the one they went into with all the same, all that steel all over the place,” Trump said.

Trump said the U.S. operation took place in darkness, although he did not detail how that had happened. “The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have,” Trump said. “It was dark and it was deadly.”

Live updates: Venezuela will be ‘run’ by US after capture of Maduro, Trump says

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