Elite helicopter unit’s part in military deployment comes as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Nicolás Maduro

They call themselves the Night Stalkers and their unofficial motto hints at the group’s lethal nocturnal line of work: “Death Waits in the Dark.” “You can flee, but they will find you,” warns a rare book about the US army’s secretive 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR).

Since the elite helicopter unit’s creation in 1981, its daredevil pilots have taken part in some of the most dangerous missions in recent US military history: battling Islamic State during Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, and Somali warlords during Operation Gothic Serpent; and spiriting Navy Seals into Pakistan to kill the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden as part of Operation Neptune Spear.