On January 3, 2026, U.S. forces carried out Operation Absolute Resolve, a large-scale military strike on Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The operation began around 2 a.m. local time with airstrikes on the Fort Tiuna military complex, La Carlota military airport, Miranda Airbase, La Guaira port, and legislative buildings. U.S. special forces then executed a helicopter raid, capturing Maduro at his residence inside Fort Tiuna.
Maduro was transported to the USS Iwo Jima and later flown to New York, arriving Saturday afternoon to face a 2020 narcoterrorism indictment. President Trump stated that the United States would temporarily “run Venezuela” until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could take place.
The people of Venezuela have suffered under successive socialist regimes, from Hugo Chávez to Nicolás Maduro, from 1999 to the present. Despite vast oil reserves, Venezuela was once twice as wealthy as Chile. Chile adopted free-market principles, while Venezuela chose socialism. Today, Chile is the wealthiest large country in South America, while Venezuela is the poorest.
Most of the Venezuelan population now suffers from food insecurity and lacks access to basic medical care amid severe shortages of food and medicine. The political opposition has been largely silenced through bans on political parties, strict censorship of publishing and communications, and tight restrictions on access to information.
In 2024, the Venezuelan people voted Maduro out of office. He refused to leave. The presidential election was described as “one of the most egregious electoral frauds in modern Latin American history” by political scientist Steven Levitsky. Maduro’s government declared him the winner with 51.95 percent of the vote, but opposition tally sheets collected from 80 to 85 percent of polling stations showed Edmundo González winning with roughly 67 percent to Maduro’s 30 percent. Edison Research exit polls confirmed those results.
The Carter Center stated that the election “did not meet international standards” and that it could not verify or corroborate the outcome. Independent mathematician Terence Tao cited “oddly round percentages,” suggesting manipulation. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council never released precinct-level results, and one CNE rector, Juan Carlos Delpino, went into hiding after stating he had seen no evidence of a Maduro victory.
When news of Maduro’s capture broke, celebrations erupted in Venezuelan communities worldwide. In Doral, Florida, crowds filled the streets with Venezuelan flags, chants of “Libertad,” and the singing of both the U.S. and Venezuelan national anthems. Hundreds gathered outside El Arepazo, embracing and expressing hope that the arrest could lead to freedom, the release of political prisoners, and a return to democracy.
Venezuelans spoke of personal losses under Chávez and Maduro, including killings, imprisonment, hunger, and forced exile, and said they longed to return home to help rebuild their country. For many, Maduro’s capture symbolized long-delayed justice after years of repression, economic collapse, and stolen elections. Similar celebrations took place in Spain and Chile. Opposition leader María Corina Machado, a recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, declared, “Venezuelans, the HOUR OF FREEDOM has arrived!” Opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia said he was ready for national “reconstruction.”
American leftists reacted with outrage to the U.S. action and appeared to favor Maduro’s return to power, despite the clear will of the Venezuelan people. New York City’s Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he called President Trump to accuse him of committing “an act of war” and violating federal and international law, calling the operation a “blatant pursuit of regime change.” Senator Bernie Sanders labeled the action “rank imperialism.”
Congressional Progressive Caucus Deputy Chair Rep. Ilhan Omar called for an immediate vote on a War Powers Resolution, while Rep. Delia Ramirez accused Trump of committing “war crimes to seize Venezuelan oil” and demanded impeachment. The Democratic Socialists of America condemned the operation as “an illegal war” and “a nakedly imperialist war to install a U.S. puppet government that will hand Venezuela’s oil resources to American corporations.”
The United Nations, Iran, China, and Russia also issued condemnations. Iran, which backs Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah, denounced the operation as a violation of sovereignty. China, which has invaded Tibet and annexed East Turkestan while transforming both into police surveillance states, called the strikes a “blatant use of force.” Russia, which has invaded Ukraine twice in the past 12 years, demanded Maduro’s immediate release and expressed solidarity with Venezuela’s regime.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply alarmed” and called the developments a “dangerous precedent,” while UN human rights chief Volker Türk urged restraint. Venezuela requested an emergency Security Council meeting, though no enforcement action is expected. Russia and China hold veto power, but so does the United States.
Despite strong verbal condemnations, none of these actors has taken concrete action to reverse the situation. Neither Iran, Russia, nor China is expected to intervene militarily, and the United Nations lacks enforcement mechanisms without a Security Council resolution.
Despite the best efforts of the American left, the axis of authoritarianism, and globalists, it appears that the people of Venezuela may soon be able to vote for the candidate of their choice and begin a new era of freedom and economic recovery.
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