唐纳德·特朗普总统周五透露，在抓获委内瑞拉领导人尼古拉斯·马杜罗的高风险任务中，美国直升机飞行员”腿部受了重伤”——尽管他将此次行动描述为”难以置信”，并表示行动”在几分钟内就结束了”。
特朗普在北卡罗来纳州布拉格堡发表讲话，表彰参与1月份”绝对解决行动”的特种部队。他透露，三名飞行员在机枪火力下着陆时受伤。
“他们腿部受了重伤，”特朗普描述此次突袭行动时说道。他说，飞行员们正在降落”一架大型直升机，随后遭到近距离机枪扫射”，并补充说狙击手”已就位”，迅速消除了威胁。
尽管有人员受伤，特朗普仍将此次突袭行动描绘为美国军事优势的惊人展示。
“当晚，全世界都看到了他们所谓的军事力量——我的美国军队——所具备的能力，”他说，”那是一次难以置信的行动。”
据美国官员称，近200名美军参与了此次任务，其中7人受伤。委内瑞拉国防部表示，委方有83人在此次行动中丧生，包括委内瑞拉安全部队成员和32名古巴人员。
特朗普访问了北卡罗来纳州布拉格堡，与行动参与者的家属进行了私下会面（其身份仍属机密），并公开赞扬了他多次称为”壮观”的行动，称其展示了美国的实力。
总统还暗示行动中使用了一种他称为”眩晕器”的秘密武器，该武器可用来瘫痪委内瑞拉的通讯和设备，并使人员迷失方向。
“他们甚至谈论那个眩晕器，因为他们根本没机会开枪。俄罗斯的设备不起作用，中国的设备也不起作用。所有人都在试图弄明白为什么那些设备不起作用。”
“在我面前有一支了不起的队伍，我为你们感到无比自豪，”总统在基地对军事人员和家属发表讲话时表示，”在我的一生中，没有比担任你们的总司令更高的荣誉了。”
他还赞扬了前共和党全国委员会（RNC）主席迈克尔·惠特利，他正在北卡罗来纳州竞选参议院席位。”如果他当选，你们的权益将得到保障。如果他没当选，军方将像往常一样被民主党人削弱。”
他还表示，如果民主党在中期选举中获得控制权，他们会像拜登政府时期那样，再次将布拉格堡改回”自由堡”。
“我们很快就改回来了，但他们又改了回去。如果我们在中期选举中失利，他们会再次改回去，甚至多次改回去。你们不能让这种事情发生。”
特朗普继续说道：”如果民主党掌权，我们的军队将得不到应有的待遇。但我第一任期内重建了军队，现在我们正在使其比以往任何时候都更强大、更庞大、更出色。征兵人数创历史新高。”
第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普也陪同前往，她在基地访问期间同样与军人家属交流。布拉格堡是美国陆军特种作战部队的最大驻地之一。
访问前，特朗普在社交媒体上发文强调了他所谓的美国与委内瑞拉临时政府之间的”非凡”关系，包括在石油收入和过渡计划方面的合作。
在戏剧性抓获马杜罗后，其副总统德尔西·罗德里格斯接管了委内瑞拉的领导权。
罗德里格斯公开表示，马杜罗和西莉亚·弗洛雷斯都是”无辜的”，并拒绝接受导致他们被捕的所谓不当行为指控。尽管她与马杜罗立场一致，美国仍坚持称其能够对她的领导施加影响。
1月底，美国与临时领导人罗德里格斯政府签署了一项巨额能源协议。美国已开始销售委内瑞拉原油，所得款项流入美国控制的账户，由美国政府酌情分配。
近200名美军参与了此次抓捕马杜罗的行动（被称为”绝对解决行动”），其中7人受伤。
委内瑞拉国防部称，此次行动中委方有83人丧生，包括委内瑞拉安全部队成员和32名古巴安全人员。
北卡罗来纳州布拉格堡还驻扎着一些部队，在中东外交努力失败时（包括特朗普推动伊朗达成协议或面临他警告可能出现的”非常痛苦”后果的情况下）可被部署。此次访问正值美国在谈判持续期间向该地区部署第二艘航空母舰”福特”号之际。
五角大楼尚未透露参与此次行动的具体军事单位。
特朗普多次称赞此次抓捕马杜罗的行动是”壮观”的行动，显示了美国在自家后院展示统治力的能力。他称参与行动的特种作战人员是”一群才华横溢、爱国心强、热爱我们国家的人。你无法阻止他们。”
President visits Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Friday to honor special operations forces involved in Operation Absolute Resolve that captured Venezuelan leader.
President Donald Trump revealed Friday that U.S. helicopter pilots were “hit pretty bad in the legs” during the high-risk mission that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro — even as he described the operation as “unbelievable” and over “in a matter of minutes.”
Speaking at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he honored the special forces involved in January’s Operation Absolute Resolve, Trump disclosed that three pilots were wounded while landing under machine gun fire.
“They were hit pretty bad in the legs,” Trump said, describing the assault. He said the pilots were landing “a big chopper and then being shot at some close range by machine gun,” adding that snipers “were stationed” and neutralized the threat quickly.
Despite the injuries, Trump portrayed the raid as a stunning display of U.S. military dominance.
“That night, the entire world saw what they call military — my U.S. military — is capable of,” he said. “That was an unbelievable operation.”
Nearly 200 U.S. troops participated in the mission, and seven were injured, according to U.S. officials. Venezuela’s defense ministry has said 83 people were killed on its side, including Venezuelan security forces and 32 Cuban personnel.
Trump visited Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to meet privately with the families of the operators involved, whose identities remain classified, and to publicly praise what he has repeatedly called a “spectacular” operation that demonstrated American strength.
The president has also hinted at a secret weapon he calls the “discombobulator” used in the operation to disable Venezuelan communications and equipment and disorient personnel.
“They even talk about the discombobulator because they never got a shot off. The Russian equipment didn’t work. The Chinese equipment didn’t work. Everyone’s trying to figure out why it didn’t work.”
“We have an amazing group of people before me, very proud of you,” the president said in an address to military personnel and families on base. “I have no higher honor in life than to be your commander in chief.”
He also praised Michael Whatley, former chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) who’s running for Senate in North Carolina. “If he gets in, you’re going to be taken care of. If he doesn’t get in, we’re going to be stripped in the military like they always do, the Democrats.”
He also said if Democrats win control in the midterm elections they would change the Fort Bragg name back to Fort Liberty again, as President Joe Biden did during his administration.
“We got it back very quickly, but they took it off. And if we don’t win the midterms, they’ll take it off again and take it off again. You can’t let that happen.”
Trump went on: “Our military, if the Democrats get in, we’ll be simply early misserved. But we rebuilt it in my first term, and now we’re making it stronger and bigger and better than ever before. The recruiting is through the roof.”
Trump was joined by first lady Melania Trump, who also spent time with military families during the base visit — one of the largest home stations for U.S. Army special operations forces.
Trump’s social media posts ahead of the visit highlighted what he called “extraordinary” relations between the United States and Venezuela’s interim leadership, including cooperation on oil revenue and transition planning.
After the dramatic capture of Maduro, his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, took over as Venezuela’s leader.
Rodríguez has publicly maintained that both Maduro and Cilia Flores are “innocent,” rejecting assertions of wrongdoing that led to their capture. Despite her alignment with Maduro, the U.S. has insisted it could assert influence over her leadership.
In late January, the U.S. and the interim Rodríguez government signed a massive energy pact. The U.S. has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil, with proceeds flowing into U.S.-controlled accounts to be disbursed at the discretion of the U.S. government.
Nearly 200 U.S. troops were involved in the Maduro operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve. Seven were injured.
Venezuela’s defense ministry said 83 people were killed in the mission on its own side, including Venezuelan security forces and 32 Cuban security personnel.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is also home to units that could be deployed if diplomatic efforts in the Middle East falter, including Trump’s push for Iran to reach an agreement or face what he has warned could be a “very traumatic” outcome. The visit comes just as the U.S. deployed a second aircraft carrier, the USS Ford, to the region while talks continue.
The Pentagon has not revealed which military units were involved in the operation.
Trump repeatedly has hailed the Maduro capture as a “spectacular” operation that showed the U.S.’s capability to assert dominance in its own backyard. He called the special operators involved a “group of unbelievable talented patriotic people that love our country. You couldn’t hold them back.”