Americans woke up to a stunning display of resolve: U.S. forces executed a daring operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his transfer to federal custody in New York. Video and official reporting show Maduro arriving in the United States under guard, a clear signal that American power and American law were used to hold a corrupt foreign ruler accountable.
This was no accident of fortune — it was a mission only America’s armed forces and intelligence professionals could pull off, as Sen. Tom Cotton rightly declared while praising the military and CIA for their roles. Conservatives should be proud that our men and women in uniform, backed by restored intelligence capabilities, accomplished what many other nations could only dream of doing.
The legal work moved immediately: a superseding indictment was unsealed charging Maduro and close associates with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons offenses, and he is now being held in federal custody ahead of arraignment. The Justice Department and federal authorities are finally forcing the corrupt cartel-state leadership to answer in an American court rather than hiding behind the trappings of dictatorship.
President Trump’s blunt declaration that the United States will “run” Venezuela until a safe, judicious transition is arranged has inflamed global critics, but it also reflects a simple truth — when our national security and the drug pipeline into our towns are threatened, America must lead. Secretary Rubio and others have tried to clarify that the aim is leverage and stabilization rather than permanent occupation, but the message is unmistakable: we will not tolerate a narco-regime controlling our hemisphere.
Let the left and the international lecterns condemn as they will — hardworking Americans know what’s at stake when cartels, Iran, Cuba and other bad actors use Venezuela as a staging ground to flood our streets with poison. This operation must be followed by a clear, conservative plan: prosecute the guilty, secure the oil revenues from rogue control so they don’t fuel terrorism, pressure legitimate Venezuelan leaders to hold free elections, and get our neighbors back on a path to peace and prosperity. The days of appeasement are over; America acted, America must lead, and America must see this through.
