In a decisive move that shook the world, U.S. forces executed Operation Absolute Resolve and took Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro into custody in the early hours of January 3, 2026. The stunning operation—planned and carried out with precision—ended a regime that has bled the Venezuelan people dry and exported chaos across our hemisphere. Americans who have watched the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela for years finally saw justice served to a dictator accused of drug-running and corruption.
Maduro and his wife were quickly transported out of Venezuela and appeared in a Manhattan federal courtroom, where they pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including narco-terrorism; the wheels of American justice are now turning on behalf of victims of Maduro’s criminal kleptocracy. The administration made clear this was not a capricious act but the enforcement of longstanding indictments that have tied Maduro to narcotics trafficking and transnational crime. For patriots who believe in the rule of law, bringing a foreign criminal to face U.S. courts is both lawful and morally right.
Predictably, the globalist chorus—led by the United Nations—cried foul, issuing statements about violations of international law and warning of dangerous precedents. That handwringing rings hollow when you remember the UN’s decades-long failure to stop Maduro’s crimes, and its habit of elevating dictators while lecturing free nations. The American people should not be swayed by the moral lectures of an organization that has long protected tyrants and rewarded corruption.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz told Hannity plainly why the UN is upset: because this was President Trump taking bold, effective action when others only posture. Waltz cut through the nonsense, noting that many nations never recognized Maduro’s fraudulent rule and that the UN’s anger is more about politics than principle. Conservatives should cheer a diplomat who stands for American strength and refuses to bow to a broken bureaucracy that coddles autocrats.
Let’s be crystal clear: America has a duty to defend our citizens from the violence and drugs that flowed out of Maduro’s Venezuela, and to protect our hemisphere from regimes that partner with cartels and hostile states. If the cost of rescuing millions of suffering Venezuelans and shutting down narco-terrorist networks is the outrage of hypocritical elites, so be it—our oath is to the Constitution and the American people, not to a global club of bureaucrats. Strong action, not lectures, is what restores order and dignity.
While the diplomats scowl and the headline chasers clutch their pearls, practical measures are already in motion to secure the region and our interests. U.S. forces and naval assets played a key role in the operation and are being repositioned as necessary to consolidate gains and protect vital shipping lanes and energy supplies. Mike Waltz is right to highlight that the UN’s bureaucrats have become an obstacle to action, and conservatives should press to defund and reform institutions that consistently side with dictators over democracy.
This moment is a test of American resolve and of whether we will lead or linger behind moral cowardice. To every hardworking American who yearns for a safer, more prosperous hemisphere: stand with the president who acted, back the diplomats who tell the truth, and demand accountability from institutions that enable tyranny. The days of appeasing despots with speeches are over—America is back as the defender of liberty, and we must remain unafraid to act.
