A highly secretive CIA unit known as ‘Ground Branch’ conducted extensive preparations for Special Forces operatives to launch an operation at Nicolas Maduro’s stronghold in Venezuela. This covert team, part of the CIA Special Activities Centre, was deployed to Caracas in August to surveil Maduro’s activities closely.
Their mission involved identifying entry points for Army Delta Force commandos, creating detailed profiles of Maduro and his security detail, and navigating through Caracas while evading security forces. The team meticulously tracked Maduro’s movements, analyzed building structures, and devised strategic plans for the operation. The tension escalated as the US Navy fleet positioned off the coast in readiness for potential action.
In a significant development, the operation successfully apprehended 63-year-old Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and others in a coordinated effort involving 150 warplanes and 11 ships. Maduro and his wife faced narco-terror charges in a New York court, where they pleaded not guilty.
The Ground Branch operatives, comprising elite spies with backgrounds in Army Delta Force and Navy SEALs, represent one of the US government’s most discreet ‘black ops’ units. Concurrently, traditional CIA agents collaborated with defectors from the Maduro regime to gather critical intelligence on targets.
This operation marked a high-risk endeavor for Ground Branch, characterized by prolonged undercover activities and a reliance on plausible deniability in case of exposure. The recruitment process for Ground Branch operatives is highly selective, often drawing from special forces units and providing extensive training in espionage tactics.
Established to address the need for specialized paramilitary units capable of executing covert missions, Ground Branch operatives possess diverse skills in intelligence gathering, sabotage, and mission planning. The unit’s inception followed the lessons learned from the failed 1980 Operation Eagle Claw during the Iran hostage crisis under President Jimmy Carter.
In comparison to the UK’s SAS ‘E Squadron,’ which collaborates closely with MI6, Ground Branch stands out as a pinnacle of clandestine military intelligence operations.