The United States executed a bold, highly coordinated operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife in the early hours of January 3, 2026. What the Pentagon described as a culmination of months of planning saw U.S. forces infiltrate Caracas, seize the regime’s leader, and remove him to U.S. custody, a decisive action that shattered the myth of untouchable dictators sheltered by corrupt regimes.
Officials say the mission — publicly labeled Operation Absolute Resolve — was staged with surgical precision, involving more than 150 aircraft, special-operations units, and painstaking rehearsal on a mock-up of Maduro’s compound. The scale and technical complexity of the raid reflect what happens when American military professionals are allowed to plan without the usual hand-wringing and second-guessing.
Intelligence, including a human source inside Venezuela’s government, reportedly narrowed Maduro’s movements and made the extraction possible, proving once again that human intelligence paired with airpower wins wars without prolonged occupations. That coordination between the CIA, the military, and law enforcement turned a distant threat into a solvable problem — the kind of interagency teamwork that conservatives have long insisted is essential to protect the homeland.
After the operation Maduro was taken to a U.S. amphibious ship offshore and will face prosecution in U.S. courts on longstanding narcotics and narco-terrorism allegations, undercutting the long-standing impunity enjoyed by his inner circle. That legal follow-through matters: removing a dictator is not enough unless the rule of law is used to hold him accountable and dismantle the corrupt networks that enriched him.
Critics on the left will scream about sovereignty and international norms, but the American people deserve a foreign policy that defends national security, stops illegal drug pipelines, and protects regional stability. When a regime operates as a narco-state and becomes a direct threat to American streets and allies, decisive action — backed by clear legal aims and an exit strategy — is not adventurism, it is responsible leadership.
Side effects and international backlash are inevitable, and Washington must now manage the diplomatic fallout while ensuring Venezuelan institutions do not simply fill the vacuum with another corrupt client. The right answer is firm, principled engagement: prosecute the criminals, open humanitarian channels for Venezuelans, and work with regional partners to secure a stable transition that breaks the cartel-state model once and for all.
