Pentagon Deployed Anthropic’s Claude AI in Venezuela Operation to Capture Maduro
The U.S. military Leveraged Anthropic’s Claude AI in a classified operation leading to the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026. The AI was deployed through Palantir Technologies, a key Pentagon contractor, despite Anthropic’s policies prohibiting its use for violence or surveillance.
The operation, which included targeted strikes in Caracas, has sparked tensions within the TRUMP administration. Officials are now reconsidering Anthropic’s $200 million contract, marking the first instance of an AI model developer being integrated into classified military missions.