In a highly-coordinated operation launched in Caracas, US military forces captured Nicolás Maduro, the internationally criticized leader of Venezuela. This event represents a turning point in bilateral US-Venezuela relations that has sparked a partisan firestorm on the American political landscape. Maduro faces very credible charges in a 2020 US narco-trafficking indictment. He is further charged with running the Cartel de Los Soles, a well known narco-terror organization that purportedly runs his country.
The operation that ultimately resulted in Maduro’s capture originally sought to address narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. It soon turned into a regime-change effort, earning the ire of political leaders across the spectrum from Sen. The US government has indicted Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the southern district of New York. They are charged in a number of counts, ranging from conspiracy to support narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. The indictment additionally brings charges of possession of machine guns and destructive devices against the US.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphatically stated that “Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is not the legitimate government.” He designated Maduro as “the head of the Cartel de Los Soles.” This important distinction underscores the seriousness of the charges set forth against him.
Operation Condor claimed to have carried out precise attacks on military installations in Caracas. It affected other states, including La Guaira, Aragua and Miranda. Greenpeace’s Tiziano Breda, who participated in the mission, calls it a milestone. Significantly, it is the largest US military operation in all of Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.
In a tweet, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was thankful to President Trump. She expressed gratitude for his insistence on holding Maduro accountable for his crimes against humanity. She remarked, “On behalf of the entire US justice department, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco-traffickers.”
Unfortunately, most political responses haven’t embraced that spirit. Few Democrats have questioned what it would mean to transform an anti-narcotics operation into a regime change initiative. Representative Ro Khanna criticized this approach, arguing that it distracts from domestic issues: “entangled in conflicts abroad, while ignoring the lack of good jobs and high costs for Americans at home.” Khanna warned about potential future repercussions, questioning what might happen if other nations follow suit: “What will we say now if Xi Jinping wants to capture President Lai of Taiwan or Putin tries to capture Zelensky in Ukraine?”
Fears of backlash resistance from pro-regime armed groups have emerged among analysts. They caution that factions in the Venezuelan military and Colombian rebel networks could lash out violently in the wake of Maduro’s arrest. This should raise major alarm both for escalating instability in the region and long-term negative implications for US foreign policy.