US neutralizes Russian-made air defenses

The U.S. military pulled off a stunning lightning strike against Venezuela on January 3, capturing dictator Nicolás Maduro while leaving our forces largely unscathed. The operation crippled Venezuela's defense systems, and it looks like cyber ops may have played a key role in the mix.

More than 150 aircraft, including bombers and fighter jets, took part in what President Trump called a successful "large-scale strike" against the regime. Caracas went dark early that morning with widespread power outages, hinting at something more than just kinetic action.

Trump suggested U.S. involvement in the blackout, without getting into the weeds. "The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have," he said.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital that while details on contributions from U.S. Cyber Command and Space Command remain unclear, penetration of Venezuelan infrastructure seems likely. "We don't really know what cyber did, some of the lights did go out, and Caine did talk about it," Cancian said. "It's possible that (they) got into some of their command and control systems."

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the layered approach as U.S. helicopters and law enforcement assets neared Venezuelan shores. The U.S. "began layering different effects provided by SPACECOM, CYBERCOM, and other members of the inter-agency to create a pathway," Caine explained.

The air package featured F-22s, F-35s, F/A-18s, E-2s, B-1 bombers, support aircraft, and boatload of drones. "As the force began to approach Caracas, the joint air component began dismantling and disabling the air defense systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area," Gen. Caine told reporters. Cancian noted that weapons like the AGM-88 HARM high-speed anti-radiation missiles, along with other air-to-ground munitions, probably neutralized radar sites and other defenses.

A SPACECOM spokesperson declined to detail specific support for Operation Absolute Resolve, citing opsec, but emphasized the foundational role of space-based capabilities. "To protect the Joint Force from space-enabled attack and ensure their freedom of movement, U.S. Space Command possesses the means and willingness to employ combat-credible capabilities that deter and counter our opponents and project power in all warfighting domains," the spokesperson said. CYBERCOM did not respond to a request for comment.

On-the-ground CIA assets provided critical intel ahead of the raid, Cancian said, after Trump authorized covert operations in Venezuela back in October 2025. "They gave detailed descriptions of Maduro’s headquarters, and I'm sure located all of the air defense batteries around Caracas," he added. "So we had an excellent sense about where everything was, combining that with overhead surveillance and also electromagnetic intelligence."

Venezuela may boast impressive Russian systems on paper, including S-300s, Buk-M2Es, and Pechora-2Ms, but poor training and U.S. disruption made the difference. 

Of the 150+ aircraft involved, only one took a hit, with none shot down. Seven U.S. service members were injured but are "well on their way to recovery," an administration official reported."Seems those Russian air defenses didn't quite work so well, did they?" Secretary of War Pete Hegseth quipped to reporters in Newport News, Virginia.

Trump announced that special forces seized Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas. The duo were flown to New York and appeared in Manhattan federal court on January 5 facing drug charges, where both laughingly pleaded not guilty. The operation followed months of pressure on Venezuela, including strikes in Latin American waters against drug traffickers as part of Trump's crackdown on narcotics flowing into the U.S. The administration has long refused to recognize Maduro as legitimate, insisting he runs a drug cartel. Trump even suggested in December that stepping down would be the "smart" move for him.

Officials frame the seizure as a "law enforcement" action, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing no congressional approval was needed since it wasn't an "invasion."

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Still, critics on the left are crying foul over the lack of congressional sign-off. "This has been a profound constitutional failure," Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a January 3 statement. "Congress — not the President — has the sole power to authorize war. Pursuing regime change without the consent of the American people is a reckless overreach and an abuse of power."

"The question now is not whether Maduro deserved removal, it is what precedent the United States has just set and what comes next."

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