Over the weekend, the U.S. military conducted a precision operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Spearheaded by the Army’s elite special missions unit, the Delta Force, Operation Absolute Resolve was successful, and the U.S. military lost no troops or equipment in the operation.
Although the Unit, as Delta Force is also known, is not new to taking down high-value targets – Delta Force, after all, killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – this operation had a law enforcement aspect: Maduro and his wife were wanted by the Justice Department, mainly for drug trafficking. As such, accompanying Delta Force operators were FBI special agents from the elite Hostage Rescue Team (HRT).
The HRT is an elite, tier 1 law enforcement special operations unit tasked with domestic counter-terrorism and hostage rescue operations.
In addition to counter-terrorism and hostage-rescue operations, the HRT also executes high-risk warrants. One could say that the operation to capture Maduro was exactly that since the Venezuelan leader had been indicted by a grand jury.
According to U.S. law, the Pentagon can’t generally deploy federal troops inside the country (there are some ways to circumvent this restriction, however). As such, the military’s elite special missions units, including Delta Force and SEAL Team 6, cannot easily operate in the country in the event of an emergency situation. The HRT was designed to be the solution to this problem.
The HRT is small, with roughly 100 operators divided into two teams, Blue and Gold. Both teams are identical to one another with assault and sniper elements.
To join the unit, FBI special agents must serve at least two years in a field office before applying. Then, they need to pass a grueling two-week selection, as well as a follow-on eight-month operator training course similar to Delta Force’s operator training course and SEAL Team 6’s Green Team. Hostage Rescue Team’s course focuses on close-quarters combat, insertion methods, marksmanship, and other skill sets. Special agents who make it through receive additional training as medics, breachers, and snipers.
Assignment to the HRT is a full-time commitment to excellence. Special agents who are picked and successfully pass the arduous selection and assessment process are expected to give everything to the unit and be ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, often outside the United States. Indeed, in the past, HRT operators have embedded with U.S. military special operations units, including Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, and the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Related: Delta Force Assessment and Selection: Spending nights at base camps
The FBI established the Hostage Rescue Team in 1982. At that time, international terrorism was raging, and aircraft hijackings were frequent. The Army and Navy had only established Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 in 1977 and 1980, respectively. The HRT was certified as ready to deploy for the first time in 1983. Its first mission was to ensure the security of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, and British Special Air Service (SAS) helped the HRT take off by providing training and secondment opportunities. In addition, many veterans, some of whom had combat experience from Vietnam, applied to join the HRT. Among them were four Navy SEALs, including Tom Norris, a one-eyed Medal of Honor recipient who had to get a special waiver to serve in the HRT.
The HRT has participated in several operations, including Ruby Ridge; the Waco siege; and the Boston Marathon operation; it has completed around 1,000 successful operations around the world. Approximately 400 special agents have served in the HRT since its founding.
The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team is the elite of the world’s law enforcement units, capable of pulling off the most demanding tasks.
Feature Image: HRT operators review actions following an urban assault training exercise. (FBI)
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