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NYT: Mock Maduro compound in Kentucky served as training facility

FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro brandishes a sword said to have belonged to independence hero Simon Bolivar during a civic-military event at the military academy in Caracas, Venezuela, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
Ariana Cubillos/AP
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AP
FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro brandishes a sword said to have belonged to independence hero Simon Bolivar during a civic-military event at the military academy in Caracas, Venezuela, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Kentucky appears to have played a role in the military preparations for the surprise strike on Venezuela.

The New York Times reports US Joint Special Operations Command — which is supported by special operations units at Fort Campbell — constructed a full-scale replica of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's compound in Kentucky.

Teams reportedly rehearsed the extraction of Maduro at the facility, practicing blowing through steel doors.

The exercises lasted days as the military readied for the mission, which was successfully carried out on Saturday.

Preparations for the raid began in mid-December, according to CNN. But CIA operations tracking Maduro's movements began in August.