The President's Daily Brief - January 5th, 2026: Inside The Delta Force Raid That Captured Maduro & Iranian Protests Continue To Grow

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: First up—remarkable new details are emerging about the operation that captured Nicolás Maduro. Covert CIA teams tracked his movements for months, while Delta Force rehearsed the raid on a full-scale replica of his safe house—leaving nothing to chance. Later in the show—things are just getting started for the deposed dictator, as newly unsealed federal charges lay out allegations of narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons offenses tied to Maduro’s inner circle. Plus—new reports from Iran indicate at least sixteen people have been killed as protests driven by inflation and economic strain spread nationwide and authorities move aggressively to suppress the unrest. And in today’s Back of the Brief—Britain and France carry out a joint airstrike on Islamic State targets in Syria. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Goldbelly: Discover iconic meals from legendary restaurants delivered nationwide with Goldbelly—get 20% off your first order at https://Goldbelly.comusing promo code PDB. PDS Debt: You’re 30 seconds away from being debt free with PDS Debt. Get your free assessment and find the best option for you at https://PDSDebt.com/PDB  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Monday, the 5th of January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, new details are emerging about the operation that captured Nicholas Maduro. The CIA tracked his movement for months, gathering intelligence on daily activities and patterns of behavior, while Delta Force rehearsed the raid on a full-scale replica of Maduro's safe house. I'll have the details. Later in the show, newly unsealed federal charges outlined the allegations against Maduro, narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons offenses tied to he and his inner circle. Plus, new reports from Iran indicate at least 16 people have been killed as protests over

inflation and the regime's crumbling economy spread, and while the Mullahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps moved to suppress the unrest. And in today's back of the brief, Britain and France carry out a joint airstrike on ISIS in Syria. But first, today's BDB spotlight. Today, we're learning more about the operation that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his wife. Information released in the aftermath of the operation details a methodical,

intelligence-driven mission that blended months of quiet preparation with, some of the most elite capabilities of the U.S. military. At the center of it all were two organizations that rarely operate in public view. That would be, of course, the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Army's Delta Force. Let's start with the Intel side. According to multiple officials, the CIA had a small covert team operating inside Venezuela as early as August. You may remember that President Trump publicly confirmed in October of this past year that he had authorized

covert CIA operations inside Venezuela. By that point, well, it seems those teams may have been operating in place for months. They were there to understand Maduro's daily life in granular detail, where he slept, how he moved, when he changed locations, and of course the specifics of the security that surrounded him. It can be a labor-intensive, painstaking process, involving surveillance, recruitment of assets with access to the target, signals intercepts, drone, coverage and other operational activities. The goal is to build as complete a picture as possible of the target's routines, patterns, associates, personality, and surrounding environment. The more complete the picture, the more thorough your homework, well, the better your chances of mitigating

risk when the decision is made to move on the target. In this case, that effort paid off. The CIA team developed what one official described as, quote, extraordinary insight into Maduro's habits. As is often the case in operations such as this, the agency had an asset, reportedly, possibly more than one, close enough to monitor his movements in real time and confirm his exact location as the operation unfolded, likely someone inside Maduro's inner circle. That intel is likely what gave the Trump administration the confidence to carry out the mission. and may have explained the timing. Once planners knew precisely where Maduro would be, and when, the greenlight was given for the military to go. Delta Force, formerly known as First Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta, sometimes referenced internally as the Combat Applications Group,

is often the U.S. military's go-to unit for missions involving high-value targets. Now, as you might expect, nothing was left to chance during the pre-op planning and training, Much like with the takedown of Bin Laden back in 2011, all source intelligence was used to create a mock-up of the target site. In bin Laden's case, it was the compound in Abbottabad. For Maduro, it was a replica of his Caracas safe house built for training purposes. As close to an exact copy as the available intel would allow, access points, door placements, hallways, number of steps, reinforced areas. they practiced how they would enter the compound, how they would move through the structure, and how they would handle resistance at every stage.

The team reportedly carried blow torches, preparing to cut through steel doors if Maduro managed to reach a hardened safe room that was identified during the Intel Collection effort. With rehearsals complete, the final piece was timing. Weather conditions reportedly delayed the mission for days. Once conditions improved, the order was given. and at 10.46 p.m. Eastern Time, reportedly, the final authorization was received. U.S. Army helicopters flown by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Nightstalkers, lifted off. These pilots specialize in flying at night and extremely low altitudes to avoid detection,

and they are a remarkable unit. As the helicopters approached Caracas, other U.S. aircraft were already at work, disabling air defenses and clearing a path. Around 1 a.m. Eastern, the assault force arrived at Maduro's compound in downtown Caracas, the location described by officials as being heavily fortified. Delta Force, accompanied by federal law enforcement personnel, moved in. Inside the residence, Maduro was reportedly caught by surprise. He attempted to reach a steel-reinforced safe room, but he didn't make it in time. Before he could secure the door, U.S. forces were already inside. Maduro and his wife surrendered.

As the team moved to extract, they encountered multiple hostile engagements. Gunfire continued as the helicopters lifted off and departed Venezuelan airspace. By roughly 3.20 a.m. Eastern time, the aircraft were over open water, and Operation Absolute Resolve was complete. Post-op details note that there were no American fatalities. Now, of course, as noted in yesterday's PDB special edition, one man, in this case, Maduro, doesn't make a regime. What backfills the hole left by Maduro's capture will determine whether Venezuelan people get a democratic government or simply a reshuffling of the key power brokers and regime officials that are still in place in Caracas. By conservative estimates, the

Democratic opposition led by Edmundo Gonzalez and people like Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Machado won the last election in Venezuela by almost a three-to-one margin. which ultimately didn't matter, since, as the international community has confirmed, Maduro stole that election and refused to step down. But will the existing Venezuelan military and security apparatus that are still in place agree to hand over power quietly and willingly to that democratic opposition? On the surface, and on the surface that seems unlikely. The vice president under Maduro, Delci Rodriguez, has already been sworn in as president,

and has already been railing against the U.S. military intervention. Meanwhile, the Trump White House has stated that the U.S. will, quote, run Venezuela until there's a just and righteous transition of power. That's all well and good if the existing Venezuelan military and militias and security apparatus step aside. If not, well, if not, this could get messy, which unfortunately would be the traditional course for any regime change. One thing does appear to be clear for Maduro's capture. The Venezuelan people themselves, for the most part, seemed to be elated with the news. Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, turned what was once the most prosperous nation in the region into a basket case through corruption and mismanagement and hard-lined socialist policies

that caused a massive number of Venezuelans to flee the country and left the remainder living under a repressive government and a failing economy. For what it's worth, only communists, socialists, or simply corrupt officials could take a country as rich in resources as Venezuela and screw it up. All right, coming up next, newly unsealed charges detail prosecution plans for deposed dictator Nicholas Maduro, plus reports from Iran say at least 16 people have been killed as economic protests spread and security forces crack down. I'll be right back.

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Now that Nicholas Maduro is in U.S. custody, I want to turn the attention to the charges facing him in U.S. court. An unsealed federal indictment lays out a 25-year narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. trafficking case, the prosecutors say was embedded in the Venezuelan regime. According to the indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan and unsealed over the weekend, prosecutors believe what was happening behind the scenes was far more coordinated than previously acknowledged. Their case is that for more than two decades, Venezuela's political and military leadership didn't merely tolerate drug trafficking or benefited from it financially. It actively enabled it. In the filing, state institutions were bent and repurposed.

to support a trafficking operation that sent massive quantities of cocaine into the U.S. while shielding those at the top of the regime from accountability. Prosecutors are explicit about who they say was involved, and it's not limited to Nicholas Maduro. Alongside Maduro and his wife, Celio Flores, the indictment names Interior Minister Dostado Cabello, former Interior Minister of Ramon Chasin, Maduro's own son, and Hector Flores,

identified as the leader of the violent Venezuelan gang, Trinderagua or TDA. The legal theory here is this wasn't corruption on the margins, but a coordinated network operating from deep inside and atop the Venezuelan state itself. The charges help explain how prosecutors are framing the case. At the center is a narco-terrorism conspiracy charge paired with a cocaine importation conspiracy, and those are reinforced by weapons charges, including possession of machine guns and destructive devices and a conspiracy to possess them. Prosecutors argue those weapons counts aren't incidental. They're meant to show how the trafficking operation was enforced, protected, and maintained through intimidation and violence.

In the indictment, Maduro and his co-defendants partnered with international drug trafficking organizations, designated as foreign terrorist organizations by Washington, including Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and Los Zetas, Colombia narco-terror groups, and Caracas's TDA. In exchange for protection and logistical support, prosecutors say Venezuela's political and military elite enriched themselves while ensuring cocaine shipments could move north with minimal interference. The filing also walks through specific actions prosecutors alleged Maduro personally took to advance the conspiracy. Between 2006 and 2008, while serving as Venezuela's foreign minister, Maduro is accused of selling passports to known drug traffickers, allowing them to move drugs. proceeds under diplomatic cover. Prosecutors also allege

he authorized private aircraft flights shielded by diplomatic immunity to transport illicit funds from Mexico back to Venezuela. Beyond the logistics, the indictment lays out how the operation was allegedly enforced. Prosecutors claim that any cocaine seized by Venezuelan

law enforcement and traffic stops or busts was diverted back into trafficking pipelines rather than destroyed. State-backed armed groups were allegedly assigned, to guard shipments, collect debts, and punish anyone who threatened the network. In the filing, Maduro and his wife jointly oversaw these enforcement efforts, turning kidnappings and beatings and murders, into a tool to protect the operation and line

their own pockets. Now, Attorney General Bambandi, posting on X, writes that Maduro and Flores, quote, will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts. Maduro is expected to make his first court appearance in New York City today. If indicted, he faces potentially decades in prison with mandatory minimums beginning at 20 years and possible life sentences. And separately, the International Criminal Court continues to investigate his regime for alleged crimes, including torture, sexual violence, and arbitrary detention. Okay, turning our attention to the Middle East, specifically Iran, where the unrued

on the streets as intensified. What began as a wave of protests over a collapsing economy has turned deadly as security forces moved to crush demonstrations across the Islamic Republic. Last week and over the weekend, the story was about escalation, scattered protests turning into clashes, reports of live ammunition being used and a regime falling back on its usual strategy of information control, pressure from security forces, and the reflexive claim that unrest is driven by outside influences. Now the picture is sharper and harsher. Human rights monitors say the death toll has climbed and arrests are mounting as the protests continue to build. The human rights activists in Iran now report that at least 16 people have been killed and more than

580 have been arrested. A separate Kurdish rights group reports a slightly higher fatality figure. Either way, the direction is the same, more deaths, detentions, and repression. And while state media and rights groups acknowledge deaths and arrests, the figures, of course, don't match, underscoring the fog that always surrounds these moments inside the Islamic Republic. The other major shift is that the Mullahs have now declared loudly their position on the protests, which they're painting as riots. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini has stepped in with a familiar label meant to delegitimize the population's grievances. He's calling protesters, quote, rioters and enemy mercenaries.

In his first words, since protests rocked his regime, he said, quote, protest is legitimate, but protest is different from rioting, adding that, quote, rioters must be put in their place. Now, as longtime listeners of the PDB will know, that language from Khomeini isn't rhetorical. It's setting the table for a harsh government response. It's the regime telling every security unit that silencing the streets is expected. According to Fox News, demonstrations are now unfolding in more than 100. locations across 22 provinces. That report also describes live fire and violent dispersals in specific cities, with the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is an organization that seeks to topp alchamany, alleging a large number of people shot in western provinces and clashes

in the country's south. Now, those precise tallies are contested, and some of these claims come from opposition groups with, of course, their own incentives, but taken together with a broader arrest count and consistent pattern of lethal force, the direction does seem unmistakable. The regime is attempting to break momentum through its usual playbook of intimidation and bloodshed. Economic pain and devastating inflation may be the spark, but the regime now fears protests that morph from anger at prices into anger at power. Layered on top of all of this is an external pressure point that didn't exist in quite the same way last week. Washington has now tied itself to the unfolding unrest.

President Trump posted a message of solidarity with the streets on truth social, quote, If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue, end quote. Trump didn't specify what that assistance or support for protesters might look like or entail, but of course the warning itself was sufficient to elicit an angry, aggressive response from the Iranian regime. And, of course, well, the world is a smaller place than it used to be. We're all more interconnected, so nothing happens in a bubble. The Mullahs and the IRGC, no doubt, are now pondering the U.S. military's actions in Venezuela, and possibly recalculating how best to deal with an interventionist Trump administration.

All right, coming up in today's back of the brief, the UK and France conducted joint air operation targeting a suspected Islamic State weapons depot in Syria. We'll have those details. Hey folks, Mike Baker here. And of course, it's a new year, right? And a new year traditionally can mean a fresh start. And for many folks, that can mean becoming debt-free, right? That's very important. The problem is, well, if you're in debt, it can seem like the financial system is built for banks to win and for you to lose. So I want to tell you about this great business out there. It's called PDS debt. Now, PDS debt can flip that equation on its head. PDS debt has helped hundreds of thousands crush credit cards, credit cards, and loan and medical debt with custom plans, no credit score minimum. They've got an A-plus rating from the Better Business Bureau, and that, of course, is very important. It's simple, it's effective, it's no nonsense. If you're in need of debt relief, check it out.

Head on over to PDS Debt. Honestly, waiting just pads the bank's profits, so don't wait. Get your free personalized assessment and check out the best options for you at PDSdebt.com slash PDB. Again, that's simple, pDSdebt.com slash PDB. In today's back of the brief, in Western Warplanes, we're back over central Syria, as Britain and France launched a joint strike on what intelligence officials assessed was an Islamic state weapons facility buried north of the ancient city of Palmyra. What's important here is that this wasn't an one-off operation or a reaction to a single

threat. I've talked before about how Western aircraft have kept up patrols over parts of Syria in an ongoing effort to prevent the resurgence of ISIS. Just last month, the U.S. carried out a wave of strikes across Syria, hitting dozens of ISIS-linked targets in what officials in Washington framed as a deliberate effort to keep the terror group off balance. This latest Allied strike continues that effort. Intelligence pointed to a hidden facility, buried in the mountains north of Palmyra, used to store weapons and explosives. ISIS is essentially trying to survive long enough to rebuild its territorial stronghold in Syria's remote interior. Britain and France's Air Forces responded together.

According to the UK's defense ministry, Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR 4 fighter jets used precision-guided bombs to strike multiple access tunnels leading into the underground site, with the refueling tanker supporting that mission. British defense officials say the strike was carried out only after confirming that the area was devoid of civilians and that all aircraft involved returned safely. As for a full damage assessment, well, it's still underway, but early indications suggest that

the mission objective was met. UK defense secretary John Healy made the intent explicit, describing the strike as part of a continued effort to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State and to confront the terror group's violent ideology with allied support. The strategy is simple. Whenever ISIS shows signs of reconstituting, the West's response. is to act immediately. The Islamic State isn't being treated as a defeated relic of the past.

It's being treated as a persistent threat that must constantly be monitored and dealt with aggressively and consistently. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, the 5th of January. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And in addition to our Saturday's special edition that covered the developments with Venezuela, I hope you had a chance over the weekend to catch our latest episode of the PDB Situation Report. We took a close look at the protests that are building in Iran, including an interview with a former political prisoner held by the Iranian regime for two years. And we also discussed the broader Middle East with former UK ambassador to Yemen, Ambassador Edmund Fitton Brown.

You can catch it in past episodes on our YouTube channel. Please check that out and subscribe at President's Daily Brief, as well as on podcast platforms all over podcast land. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Some follow the noise.

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