Anthropic’s artificial-intelligence model Claude was used in the U.S. military’s operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Claude’s deployment in the mission came through Anthropic’s partnership with data-analytics firm Palantir Technologies, whose platforms are widely used by the U.S. Department of Defense and federal law enforcement agencies.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report, and the U.S. Defense Department, the White House, Anthropic and Palantir did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Pentagon has been pushing major AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, to make their artificial-intelligence tools available on classified networks with fewer of the standard restrictions that firms normally apply to users, Reuters reported earlier this week.

Many AI companies are building custom tools for the U.S. military, most of which are available only on unclassified networks typically used for military administration. Anthropic is the only one reported to be available in classified settings through third parties, but the government remains bound by the company’s usage policies, which forbid using Claude to support violence, design weapons or carry out surveillance.

The United States captured Maduro in a high-profile raid in early January and transported him to New York to face federal drug-trafficking charges.

The extent and exact role of Claude’s involvement in the operation have not been publicly detailed, but the development highlights the growing integration of advanced commercial AI technologies into national security and defence operations — and the tensions that can arise between ethical usage policies and military needs.