As I write this on 1/4/26 most news reports state that the United States has carried out a flawless military mission early yesterday to arrest the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in his home (aka fortress) in Caracas. Our military personnel forced their way into his house before Maduro could enter his steel walled safe room and arrested him and his wife before they could escape. The assault had been meticulously planned for months. No Americans were killed, and only one helicopter was hit but was able to continue flying. A total of about 150 aircraft were used. Many of Maduro's security team were neutralized. The electrical system in the area was disabled by allied forces so that the raid was carried out in complete darkness. Maduro and his wife were transported by sea and air to the federal jail in Manhattan to await charging for their crimes tomorrow.
Venezuelan citizens in the U.S. from southern Florida to as far away as Las Vegas who had fled their country because of Maduro celebrated the capture of the oppressive leader. Maria Corian Machado. the Venezuelan duly elected opposition leader who spent much of her time in hiding for her own safety. said after 1/3 that "the time for freedom has come." She was previously awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump said that at least 100,000 people and possibly three times that number died each year due to cocaine and fentanyl poisoning. Fentanyl is the major cause of death for men in the 18-to-45-year age bracket. After US aircraft sank many cartel boats carrying drugs in the Gulf several opposition people seemed to show greater concern for the safety of the narco terrorists on board than they did for the victims of drug overdose. Trump said that the cargo of each boat represented the death of many thousands of US citizens.
Back to the capture of Maduro. J.D. Vance said that Maduro was offered multiple off ramps. Trump said he asked Maduro to surrender in the week before the raid. All offers were refused. Now Venezuela's supreme court has granted Vice President Deleg Rodriguez to be interim president. Trump says he will keep a close eye on developments because many of Maduro's generals remain. He does not want to have them continue Maduro's oppression or we would return to square one.
Not all reactions to Maduro's capture have been positive. Many liberals are inflicted with chronic TDS. Minority Senate leader Chuck Schumer said that the action was a reckless "violation of law." I would challenge Schumer to say that in Doral, Florida which is populated with many Venezuelan refugees. Further, Sen. Chris van Holland (D-Md) --remember him? He flew to El Salvador to plead for the release of suspected MS-13 gang member Abrego Garcia--anyway, van Holland said that "the Trump administration had lied about the military action in Venezuela being about stopping drugs from coming into the US. It is about grabbing Venezuela's oil for American oil companies and Trump's billionaire buddies." I would remind everyone that Trump is concerned about the welfare of people as evidenced by his desire to stop the fighting in Ukraine, where thousands of troops are killed each week. Some liberals have made puzzling statements: AOC said that the attack was "a distraction." It was to take the spotlight off the health care debate. Others have said the administration should have asked congress for permission ahead of their action. Governmental officials would never leak information, would they? That would destroy the element of surprise.
A friend of mine suggests that there will be some ripple effects from the attack. One will be the oil supply to Cuba. Without cheap oil Cuba will have even larger economic problems. On the other hand, if Venezuela starts producing large quantities of oil for the worldwide market (it has tremendous reserves) it could upset the income of Russia from their sales of that commodity and thereby make it weaker on the world stage. Yet another potential ripple effect could be the political situation in Iran. This country is run by the unpopular Islamic mullahs. Iran is one of the largest--if not the largest--sponsor of state terrorism. That has siphoned off funds for local economies resulting in large protests throughout Iran. Trump has warned the mullahs that they will be "hit very hard" if more protesters are killed. Perhaps they will now realize that Trump means what he says.
Peter Gilderson, Madison.
