The United States military reportedly used an advanced artificial-intelligence (AI) tool called Claude during its operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the AI model was involved in planning and executing the mission that led to Maduro’s arrest.

Claude is an AI model developed by Anthropic, a major AI company. The report says the U.S. Defence Department accessed Claude through a partnership between Anthropic and Palantir Technologies, a data analytics company whose software is widely used by the U.S. military and federal law enforcement agencies.

Officials familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that Claude was used on classified military networks. These are secure systems that handle sensitive national security information. Normally, many AI models are only permitted on unclassified military systems, which are less restricted. However, Claude is reportedly one of the few major AI tools available on classified networks through third-party agreements.

The involvement of Claude in the operation has drawn attention because Anthropic’s official usage policies say the tool should not be used to support violence, military targeting, weapons design, or surveillance. These rules are intended to guide how and where Claude is used. Despite these stated limits, the report suggests the model was still used in some capacity during the Maduro mission.

The U.S. government has been pushing top AI companies — including Anthropic and others like OpenAI — to make their tools work on secure, classified networks. This is part of a broader effort by the Pentagon to integrate advanced AI into national defence systems. Many companies build custom AI versions for the military, but these are usually limited to applications like logistics, planning, or analysing data. Claude’s reported use in a live operation is seen as noteworthy in this context.

In early January, U.S. forces conducted a bold mission in Venezuela that led to the arrest of President Maduro. After the operation, he was taken to New York to face charges related to drug trafficking. This mission marked a significant moment in U.S. foreign policy and military operations.

Neither the Defence Department, the White House, Anthropic, nor Palantir immediately responded to requests for comment following the report.

Maduro’s arrest and the reported use of AI like Claude highlight new ways that artificial intelligence is becoming part of complex international security efforts.