Army pilot wounded in Maduro raid gets Medal of Honor during Trump's speech

WASHINGTON (AP) — A helicopter pilot wounded in the raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro received the Medal of Honor during President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

Trump said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, who appeared using a walker, was the pilot of the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that descended on the “heavily protected military fortress” where Maduro was staying. The raid, while successful, left seven U.S. service members with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.

“While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle, and Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip, one bullet after another,” Trump said, adding that Slover “absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces.”

Months of covert planning led to the brazen operation that plunged the South American country’s capital into darkness as troops infiltrated Maduro’s home and whisked him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

Trump's description of Slover's actions that night offer a new, detailed glimpse into the military action that has been largely shrouded in secrecy since it was carried out in the early hours of Jan. 3.

As Slover prepared to land his helicopter, he was confronted with “two machine gunners who escaped the wrath of the previous planes,” according to Trump.

“Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat," Trump said, “saving the lives of his fellow warriors from what could have been a catastrophic crash deep in enemy territory.”

The president said “the success of the entire mission and the lives of his fellow warriors hinged on Eric’s ability to take searing pain.”

Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of Joint Special Operations Command, presented Slover with the Medal of Honor in the gallery overlooking the House chamber.

Slover, 45, was in his dress uniform and used a walker to steady himself. Trump said the soldier was still recovering from his wounds.

Lt. Col. Allie Scott, a spokeswoman for Army Special Operations Command, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Slover enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 2005 and, after completing basic training, attended Warrant Officer Candidate School and flight school, where he became a Chinook pilot.

Scott would not provide any further details on the units Slover had been assigned to during his Army service.

But, in his career of more than 20 years, Slover was given multiple prestigious awards for his service. They include two Distinguished Flying Crosses — including one with a V Device for valor — two Bronze Stars, two Meritorious Service Medals and two Air Medals, among other awards and decorations, according to records provided by Scott.

Slover was awarded one of his Distinguished Flying Crosses just several years into his service while deployed to Afghanistan, according to a unit magazine available online. Slover, then serving with the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, was one of six aviators to receive the prestigious award for “acts of heroism during aviation operations in southern Afghanistan" at Kandahar airfield, according to the January 2010 issue.

Slover's records also say he has been awarded a Purple Heart.

Trump said 10 other service members who took part in the operation will be receiving medals at a private ceremony soon to be held at the White House.

The military typically shies away from publicly identifying service members who serve in special operations units, often going so far as to blur faces of troops undergoing training for admission into the elite units.

In addition to Slover, Trump also presented the Medal of Honor to retired Capt. E. Royce Williams, a Navy pilot who shot down multiple Soviet jets during the Korean War, upgrading his existing award of a Navy Cross.

Trump called the 100-year-old former fighter pilot “one of the last living legends.”

First lady Melania Trump applauds after presenting the Congressional Medal of Honor to World War II Navy Pilot Capt. Royce Williams during President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

First lady Melania Trump presents the Congressional Medal of Honor to World War II Navy pilot Capt. Royce Williams as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover receives a Medal of Honor during President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover receives a Medal of Honor during President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts and Nevis (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday defended the Trump administration’s military operation to capture Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, telling Caribbean leaders, many of whom objected to that move, that the country and the region were better off as a result.

Speaking to leaders from the 15-member Caribbean Community bloc at a summit in the country of St. Kitts and Nevis, Rubio brushed aside concerns about the legality of Maduro’s capture last month that have been raised among Venezuela’s island-state neighbors and others.

“Irrespective of how some of you may have individually felt about our operations and our policy toward Venezuela, I will tell you this, and I will tell you this without any apology or without any apprehension: Venezuela is better off today than it was eight weeks ago,” Rubio told the leaders in a closed-door meeting, according to a transcript of his remarks later distributed by the U.S. State Department.

Rubio said that since Maduro’s ouster and the effective takeover of Venezuela’s oil sector by the United States, the interim authorities in the South American county have made “substantial” progress in improving conditions by doing “things that eight or nine weeks ago would have been unimaginable.”

The Caribbean leaders have gathered to debate pressing issues in a region that President Donald Trump has targeted for a 21st-century incarnation of the Monroe Doctrine meant to ensure Washington’s dominance in the Western Hemisphere. The Republican administration has declared a focus closer to home even as Washington increasingly has been preoccupied by the possibility of a U.S. military attack on Iran.

In his remarks to the group, America's top diplomat tried to play down any antagonistic intent in what Trump has referred to as the “Donroe Doctrine.” Rubio said the administration wants to strengthen ties with the region in the wake of the Venezuela operation and ensure that issues such as crime and economic opportunities are jointly addressed.

“I am very happy to be in an administration that’s giving priority to the Western Hemisphere after largely being ignored for a very long time,” Rubio said. “We share common opportunities, and we share some common challenges. And that’s what we hope to confront.”

He said transnational criminal organizations pose the biggest threat to the Caribbean while recognizing that many are buying weapons from the United States, a problem he said authorities are tackling.

Rubio also said the U.S. and the Caribbean can work together on economic advancement and energy issues, especially because many leaders at the four-day summit have energy resources they seek to explore. “We want to be your partner in that regard,” he said.

Rubio said the U.S. recognizes the need for fair, democratic elections in Venezuela, which lies just miles away from Trinidad and Tobago at the closest point.

“We do believe that a prosperous, free Venezuela who’s governed by a legitimate government who has the interests of their people in mind could also be an extraordinary partner and asset to many of the countries represented here today in terms of energy needs and the like, and also one less source of instability in the region,” he said.

Rubio added: “We view our security, our prosperity, our stability to be intricately tied to yours.”

Trump, in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. called the operation that spirited Maduro out of Venezuela to face drug trafficking charges in New York “an absolutely colossal victory for the security of the United States."

The U.S. had build up the largest military presence in the Caribbean Sea in generations before the Jan. 3 raid, which has now been exceeded by the surge of American warships and aircraft to the Middle East as the administration pressures Iran to make a deal over its nuclear program.

In the Caribbean, Trump has stepped up aggressive tactics to combat alleged drug smuggling with a series of strikes on boats that have killed over 150 people and he has tightened the pressure on Cuba. Regional leaders have complained about administration demands for nations to accept third-country deportees from the U.S. and to chill relations with China.

Godwin Friday, newly elected prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, echoed the fears of many European leaders when he said the Caribbean is “challenged from inside and out.”

"International rules and practices that we have become used to over the years have changed in troubling ways,” Friday said.

Trump said during the State of the Union that his administration is “restoring American security and dominance in the Western Hemisphere, acting to secure our national interests and defend our country from violence, drugs, terrorism and foreign interference.”

Rubio on Wednesday was holding a series of one-on-one meetings with individual heads of government, including the prime ministers of St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.

Terrance Drew, prime minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and chair of the Caribbean Community bloc, said the region “stands at a decisive hour.”

“The global order is shifting,” he said during the summit's opening ceremony Tuesday. “Supply chains remain uncertain, energy markets fluctuate and climate shocks intensify.”

Like other leaders, Drew spoke about changing geopolitics and said the humanitarian situation in Cuba must be addressed and taken seriously, something also stressed by Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

“It must be clear that a prolonged crisis in Cuba will not remain confined to Cuba,” Holness warned. “It will affect migration, security and economic stability across the Caribbean basin.”

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday slightly eased restrictions on the sale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, which instituted austere fuel-saving measures in the weeks after the U.S. raid in Venezuela.

Coto reported from San José, Costa Rica. Associated Press reporters Bert Wilkinson in Georgetown, Guyana, and Andrea Rodríguez in Havana contributed to this report.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center front in red tie, poses for a group photo with other government officials attending the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. Also pictured are, Bahamas' Prime Minister Philip Edward Davis, left, Grenada's Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, fourth from right, Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Gaston Browne, second from right, Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, second from left, Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness, front row third from left, and St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew, third from right. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, shakes hands with St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, which is hosting the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio waits to meet with St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, which is hosting the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a thumbs up during the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) plenary session in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, meets with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar during the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front center, attends the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) plenary session in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool photo via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)