The youngest US service member involved was 20, the oldest 49, according to Caine.
Despite the intensity, Trump and Caine said there were no US fatalities.
Two U.S. officials later said roughly half a dozen American service members were injured during the operation, including personnel aboard the aircraft that was hit while remaining flyable.
At least 40 Venezuelans, including soldiers and civilians, were killed in the strike, officials from the South American nation told the New York Times.
Behind the scenes, US intelligence had been quietly tracking Maduro for months.
Alex Plistsas, an ex-senior US intelligence official and Atlantic Council fellow, told The Post that the CIA had a small team on the ground since August, building a “pattern of life” on Maduro and developing sources.
“The operation was supposed to go down a few days ago, but the weather wasn’t good,” Plitsas said.
Once conditions improved, the CIA fed the intelligence forward and the US Army Delta Force team led the raid.
Trump said the mission had been authorized days earlier but that Pentagon planners waited for a narrow weather window to ensure tactical surprise and limit civilian harm.
The ground force was bolstered by the FBI Hostage Rescue Team because the mission was executed under a federal arrest warrant tied to narcoterrorism charges dating back to 2020.
