By MG Paul E Vallely (Ret) & LT General Thomas Mcinerney
Finally, action to cleanse the Western Hemisphere. No toleration of Communism and Sharia law and their destructive effect on nations and free-standing citizens. The U.S. conducted a flawless, very planned special operations mission in Venezuela early on Saturday morning. President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and moved to a US Navy ship for transportation to New York for formal indictment. He will “face the full wrath of American justice on American soil,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Asked who will lead Venezuela, Trump told Fox News, “Well, we’re going to have to look at it right now.” Trump also said that he expects the U.S. to get “very strongly involved” in the future of Venezuela’s oil industry. Venezuela’s attorney general said innocent civilians were killed in the military strikes on several facilities in Caracas and the surrounding area.
The U.S. has been ramping up the pressure on Venezuela for months, assembling a huge military presence in the Caribbean, intercepting two fully loaded Venezuelan crude tankers, and killing dozens in strikes on boats near it alleges were carrying drugs. Many Venezuelans rejoice after news that Maduro was captured, arrested, and moved to the United States. “I’m extremely happy, it’s a sensation that finally people understood that Venezuela was no longer a democratic country,” said Raquel De Faria, a Venezuelan-Brazilian doctor who grew up in Venezuela and left the country in 2018 due to the ongoing political and economic situation.
Trump “took the reins,” she added. “The reality is that they are a narco-government and that needed to be controlled.” It is “a great conquest,” she said. “I feel like something huge was accomplished, a victory, and what a start to the year for Venezuela.” The next 48 hours in Venezuela could prove decisive, with risks of civil conflict and uncertainty over whether U.S. involvement escalates, according to one analyst.
“I think the next 48 hours are probably the most crucial in this entire scenario,” said Brian Fonseca, director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy. “There is a pathway that could lead to pronounced civil conflict, and may force the Americans to double down even more.” Fonseca cautioned that removing President Nicolás Maduro does not automatically dismantle the power structures around him, and that “taking Maduro out doesn’t necessarily mean that the regime goes away.” “You have a political, military elite that are as tied to the survival of Maduro as Maduro himself, in many ways,” he told NBC News.
Trump approved the Venezuela action before Christmas, then delayed it for four days. President Donald Trump approved the U.S. military and law enforcement actions in Venezuela more than a week ago, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning. Approval for the plan came before Christmas, and apparently, the timing of the mission has been discussed almost hour by hour since then. Trump said that he expects the U.S. to get “very strongly involved” in the future of Venezuela’s oil industry now that Maduro is no longer in control of it.
“We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we’re going to be very much involved in it,” he said on Fox News.
Any major U.S. involvement in Venezuela’s oil industry could be seismic for the industry, although establishing the infrastructure to drill, store, and export that oil would likely take years to materialize. The country currently holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, surpassing those of Saudi Arabia, according to the Energy Institute. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres is “deeply alarmed” by the recent escalation in Venezuela and is concerned that the U.S. operation will have potentially worrying implications for the region.
“These developments constitute a dangerous precedent,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said in a statement. “The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect by all of international law, including the UN Charter. He’s deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.” Trump calls Democrats questioning whether he needed congressional authorization ‘weak, stupid people’. In a phone call with Fox News, the president called his critics “weak, stupid people,” when asked directly about criticism he’s facing from Democratic lawmakers for taking action in Venezuela without congressional approval. “Well, look, these are weak, stupid people,” Trump told “Fox & Friends,” adding, “They’re trying to save themselves from almost destroying our country.”
“As far as last night is concerned, it was really genius. What they did is genius, and the Democrats, maybe they’ll take a shot, you know? They’ll take a shot. All they do is complain,” the president added later. “They should say, ‘You know what, we did a great job.’ … They do say, ‘Oh, gee, maybe it’s not constitutional.’ You know, the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years and years and years.” Venezuelan civilians, appearing to flee the country, gather at the border crossing in the town of Cucuta, Colombia, following a large-scale U.S. military operation to remove President Nicolás Maduro.
