All you need to know about Delta Force, the US Military special mission unit that captured Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro

Delta Force was founded as a dedicated counterterrorism unit due to a string of high-profile terrorist incidents in the 70s.

By: Express Web Desk

2 min readJan 3, 2026 06:45 PM IST First published on: Jan 3, 2026 at 06:42 PM IST

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👁 All you need to know about Delta Force, the US Military special mission unit that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
The Delta Force was established in 1977 by Colonel Charles Beckwith and was modeled after the British Special Air Service. (Photo: Reuters)

US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The operation that sent shockwaves across the world was reportedly carried out by the Delta Force, a US military top special mission unit.

👁 All you need to know about Delta Force, the US Military special mission unit that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

Venezuelan President Nicolas, accompanied by first lady Cilia Flores, waves to supporters during a Student Day event at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

What is Delta Force?

Delta Force, officially known as the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), is the US Army’s premier Tier-1 special mission unit.

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The Delta Force was established in 1977 by Colonel Charles Beckwith and was modelled after the British Special Air Service. It was founded as a dedicated counterterrorism unit due to a string of high-profile terrorist incidents in the 70s.

The Delta Force is based at Fort Liberty, North Carolina and operates under the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

👁 All you need to know about Delta Force, the US Military special mission unit that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

The Delta Force was established in 1977 by Colonel Charles Beckwith. (Photo: Reuters/ File)

The Delta Force has been tasked with counterterrorism operations, hostage rescue, direct-action raids, and special reconnaissance against high-value targets.

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