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On January 3, 2026, United States forces carried out strikes and a bold operation inside Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and their transfer to U.S. custody. In the immediate vacuum, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was installed and formally sworn in as acting president by Venezuela’s loyalist legislature, a development that has shocked the hemisphere and set off a torrent of questions about legitimacy and American authority.
Reports say the raid involved coordinated strikes across Caracas and other sites, leaving dozens dead and several U.S. service members wounded, while Maduro faces long-standing narcotics and narco-terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York. Americans who have watched Washington dither for years over the drug cartels and rogue regimes should not be surprised that the administration finally acted decisively to bring a wanted criminal to justice.
Make no mistake: Delcy Rodríguez is not a reformer who suddenly emerged from the opposition — she is a longtime Maduro ally and part of the same corrupt machinery that bled Venezuelans dry. Conservatives who love freedom should be clear-eyed about trading one Maduro-era insider for another; Rodríguez’s emergence underscores the messy reality that toppling a thug does not magically produce a pro-liberty government.
President Trump authorized the operation and has signaled willingness to work with Rodríguez for the moment, while also warning bluntly that cooperation will be expected and enforced — a posture that will please patriots who want strength, not endless speeches. This administration’s willingness to act where others hesitated shows that American power, when used decisively, can disrupt narco-terror networks and shift the balance in regions that for too long have been safe havens for criminals.
Predictably, global institutions and European capitals have bellowed about sovereignty and international law, while Russia has leapt to defend Rodriguez’s new position as a counterweight to U.S. influence. Let them howl; the same elites who lectured America on restraint for decades suddenly care about Venezuelan sovereignty only when it conflicts with their geopolitical preferences.
This moment demands vigilance from every patriot who cares about liberty and the rule of law. Support for bringing drug kingpins to justice must be paired with a clear plan to push for free elections, to pry Venezuela’s oil back from kleptocrats, and to ensure that American blood and treasure are not wasted propping up another corrupt cronies’ regime.
