The stunning seizure of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces has upended the corrupt regime that terrorized Venezuela for years and sent a clear message to dictators who traffic death into our neighborhoods. American resolve removed a narco-authoritarian from power and brought him to face justice in U.S. courts, a move that some on the left will howl about but many ordinary Venezuelans quietly celebrated. This was not a stunt — it was the enforcement of criminal accountability against a man accused of trafficking vast quantities of cocaine into the United States.
Juan Carlos Pinzón, Colombia’s former defense minister, was blunt when he warned that Colombia’s current leadership should be alarmed by these developments; he rightly sees the region’s security architecture fraying under leaders who cozy up to tyrants. Pinzón has called out President Gustavo Petro for turning Colombia toward policies that embolden cartels and Venezuela’s criminal networks, and his voice matters because he ran Colombia’s security apparatus when it was actually working. If Americans care about hemispheric stability, we should listen to experienced patriots who understand the deadly consequences of appeasement.
In Caracas an interim figure has already tried to step into the vacuum, but the reality is that Maduro’s capture leaves a chaotic political landscape across Venezuela that will impact neighbors like Colombia immediately. Delcy Rodríguez’s emergence as an acting leader illustrates how fragile any post-Maduro transition will be, and why Colombia must shore up its borders and institutions now rather than wait for chaos to spill over. Washington should work with regional patriots, not with officials who have flirted with Maduro’s criminal cabal.
Let’s be clear: Maduro didn’t fall into a conspiracy theory — he has long been the subject of credible U.S. indictments alleging narco-terrorism, and he was brought to face those charges in federal court. Bringing him before American justice is about protecting American lives and enforcing the rule of law, not about imperial fantasies; the DOJ’s work on these indictments has been ongoing for years and now the accountability process will play out in open courts. Conservatives should demand that the legal proceedings be seen through, with convicted criminals facing the severe penalties their crimes deserve.
Critics at the United Nations and in some foreign capitals will bleat about sovereignty and precedent, but the real question for patriots is whether we will tolerate regimes that funnel poison into our cities and fund terror in our hemisphere. International hand-wringing won’t stop fentanyl floods or cartel networks; decisive action will. If U.S. policy is to protect its citizens first, then bold operations against transnational criminal regimes are a legitimate tool in the toolbox.
Now is the moment for leaders like Pinzón and other pro-American conservatives across Latin America to step forward and offer real alternatives to the disaster of leftist kleptocracies. Colombia cannot afford complacency — its president should take Pinzón’s warning seriously, clean house, and restore the security partnerships that once made Colombia a regional stabilizer. Patriots in Washington and Bogotá should back credible, pro-sovereignty candidates and policies that crush cartels, secure borders, and rebuild prosperity for the people who deserve it most.
