Pentagon allegedly used Claude AI in raid to capture Nicolas Maduro
The U.S. military reportedly used Anthropic’s artificial intelligence tool Claude in its operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The covert mission included bombing several sites in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas last month. Claude was used during the active operation, not just in preparations for it, Axios reported.
But this new development may threaten the company’s business with the Pentagon. Anthropic’s usage guidelines prohibit its AI model from being used to facilitate violence, develop weapons or conduct surveillance, priding itself as a safety-first AI leader.
Anthropic is confident the military has complied with its existing usage policy, which includes additional restrictions, Axios reported.
“We cannot comment on whether Claude, or any other AI model, was used for any specific operation, classified or otherwise,” a company spokesperson said. “Any use of Claude—whether in the private sector or across government—is required to comply with our Usage Policies, which govern how Claude can be deployed. We work closely with our partners to ensure compliance.”
Anthropic’s concern about how the Pentagon can utilize its AI tool has pushed Trump administration officials to consider canceling its contract worth up to $200 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.
An administration official said that the Pentagon would be reevaluating its partnership with Anthropic following reports of the deployment of Claude, according to Axios.
“Anthropic asked whether their software was used for the raid to capture Maduro, which caused real concerns across the Department of War indicating that they might not approve if it was,” the official said. “Any company that would jeopardize the operational success of our warfighters in the field is one we need to reevaluate our partnership with going forward.”
The Department of Defense and federal law enforcement commonly use tools from data company Palantir Technologies, with which Anthropic has a partnership.
Anthropic was the first AI model developer to be used in classified operations by the Department of Defense. The tools can quickly process data in real-time, analyze satellite imagery and control autonomous drones.
It is unclear what the exact role that Claude played in the operation was to capture Mr. Maduro and his wife.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said he wants to integrate AI into all aspects of the military’s work. When it was announced that the Pentagon would be working with xAI in January, Mr. Hegseth said that the agency wouldn’t “employ AI models that won’t allow you to fight wars,” referring to discussions with Anthropic, the Journal reported.
