Iconic Photos Released of President Trump & Team Watching Venezuelan Raid LIVE From Mar-a-Lago

Photos just dropped from the room where President Trump and his team watched the capture of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro.

President Trump was joined at Mar-a-lago by his national security team, which included Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Stephen Miller, and John Ratcliffe to watch the operation play out.

Here are the absolutely legendary photos:

pic.twitter.com/u8egVVabOR

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 3, 2026

Here’s a few more photos:

Something tells me these photos are going to go down in history…

However, one notable face was missing from that room.

Vice President JD Vance was not present at Mar-a-lago last night.

But, there’s a good reason why.

He was purposefully kept away in order to avoid tipping off Venezuelans.

Fox News explained:

Vice President JD Vance was not physically present at President Donald Trump’s news conference announcing the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro because of heightened security and secrecy concerns, according to a spokesperson, despite being closely involved in the planning and execution of the operation.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trump briefed the press on the mission hours after Maduro was taken into U.S. custody, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and chairman of the joint chiefs, Gen. Dan Caine.

Vance publicly praised the operation on X but did not attend the briefing. Vance did meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday to discuss the strikes, but was not at Trump’s golf club Friday night where senior Trump officials monitored the mission because the national security team “was concerned a late-night motorcade movement by the Vice President while the operation was getting underway may tip off the Venezuelans.”

“The Vice President joined by secure video conference throughout the night to monitor the operation. He returned to Cincinnati after the operation concluded.”

Due to “increased security concerns,” Trump and Vance are limiting the “frequency and duration” of time they spend together outside of the White House, the Vance spokesperson told Fox News Digital.