Trump Officials Reportedly Decided To Support Maduro's Capture Over Public Defiance And Public Dancing

Some Trump officials decided to support the operation to capture Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro after seeing public displays of defiance, which included dancing to a remix of him calling for no wars, according to a new report.

Some officials understood that Maduro was mocking the Trump administration and trying to call what he saw as a bluff, The New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

One of the latest such episodes took place this week when Maduro refrained from addressing a U.S. strike on alleged cartel infrastructure, instead dancing to the remix.

During a recent appearance in Maracay, Aragua, Maduro resorted to his usual calls in English: "Victory forever, forever, forever. Not crazy war. Yes peace forever," Maduro said before the applauding crowd.

Then he proceeded to dance along with people next to him to a remix of a speech including those phrases. "I can't speak because the DJ plays the music. That music is for nightclubs. It's the number one song of the Venezuelan season. They haven't been able to take it down from the Billboard list," Maduro claimed.

Maduro was captured after Trump gave the green light to "Operation Absolute Resolve." Elite troops had trained for months to execute the operation, even using a replica of the presidential compound based on gathered intelligence.

Months earlier, the CIA had sent a small team inside the South American country to track Maduro's locations and movements, providing key intelligence that led to his capture.

CNN reported that the team was sent to the country over the summer. One source operated within the authoritarian government and assisted the U.S. with tracking Maduro before the operation.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were finally taken and could make a court appearance as soon as Monday, according to NBC News. They have been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and conspiracy and weapons offenses.

Trump said that top U.S. officials will work with a "team" to help run Venezuela until a democratic transition takes place. The team will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.