Satellite imagery released in the aftermath of US airstrikes launched in support of the operation to apprehend Nicolás Maduro shows damage beyond a major military base.
A satellite photo taken on Saturday by the US commercial imaging company Planet Labs PBC and obtained by Business Insider shows damage at the Higuerote Airport on Venezuela’s northern coast, several dozen miles east of the capital Caracas.
A crater or burn mark can be seen adjacent to the eastern end of the runway, and another on the apron near a collection of buildings.
Video shared on social media appeared to show explosions and fires at Higuerote Airport during the surprise US operation, Absolute Resolve, which began late Friday night and continued for several more hours into Saturday morning.
Imagery of the airport taken in the aftermath of the US strikes shows rubble on the tarmac, the remains of what looks like a small aircraft, and what some media reports have identified as a BUK surface-to-air missile system developed by the Soviet Union.
Venezuela’s air defenses are primarily comprised of Russian-made technology. US fighter jets, surveillance planes, bombers, and drones targeted these systems at the beginning of the raid, effectively clearing a path for low-flying helicopter apprehension forces to locate and capture the former president, Maduro, and his wife.
“Seems those Russian air defenses didn’t quite work so well, did they?” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during remarks at the Newport News Shipyard in Virginia on Monday.
In addition to the damage seen at Higuerote Airport, satellite imagery taken by the US spatial intelligence firm Vantor revealed significant damage to buildings and equipment at Fuerte Tiuna, a major military installation in Caracas that houses defense ministries, critical commands, official residences, and other strategic infrastructure.
Conflict analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said that geolocated footage indicated American forces also targeted port infrastructure, telecommunication towers, and an airbase in and around Caracas.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on the targets struck during Operation Absolute Resolve. The White House directed BI to the Saturday press briefing on the mission.
More than 150 US aircraft participated in the mission to capture Maduro, which relied on months of extensive planning and rehearsal, including building a replica of Maduro’s compound that American personnel stormed. US intelligence agencies had mapped out details and patterns of his life in advance.
The operation marked a dramatic culmination of months of rising tensions between the Trump administration and Maduro, whom the US has accused of facilitating drug trafficking and other criminal activity. The ousted leader is now in New York facing narco-terrorism charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
The US established a large military presence in the Caribbean over the past few months, deploying an aircraft carrier strike group, cruisers, destroyers, advanced fighter jets, and thousands of troops.
Since early September, the US has carried out dozens of airstrikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing more than 100 people in a campaign that drew sharp criticism from lawmakers and legal experts.
It is unclear how long the US will maintain this force presence in the region. President Donald Trump issued warnings to several neighboring countries over the weekend — including Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico — raising concerns of additional military action. He has also threatened Venezuela with follow-on strikes if it doesn’t cooperate.
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