This blog is a compendium of multiple media reports supplemented by my opinion, where indicated.
They came in the dead of night. They attacked with massive, overwhelming force, yet with surgical precision. Just like that, Maduro and his wife were captured and whisked away to NYC where they will be prosecuted for narco-terrorism and other illegal activities.
By all accounts “Operation Absolute Resolve,” as it has been dubbed, was not a spontaneous event. It was a well thought-out, meticulously planned operation. As early as August, the CIA surreptitiously deployed a small unit into Venezuela with the goal of providing “extraordinary insight” into Maduro’s movements and habits including where he slept, what he ate, and when and where he traveled. Their research was so thorough that, as Dan “Raizin” Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a post-raid press conference, “even [the names of] his pets were known.”
Elite troops had been training for months “practicing” on a replica of the presidential compound similar to the way the troops who killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 had prepared. They were ready for any conceivable unforeseen contingency. President Trump said they were even equipped with “massive blowtorches” in case they had to cut through the steel walls of Maduro’s safe room. At the same time, an exclusive Trump Administration team had worked privately on the project for months, holding regular meetings and phone calls and briefing Trump periodically. Security was unbelievably tight. The operation was so secret that details weren’t shared with most of the people in the Pentagon nor with Congressional leaders.
At first inclement weather forced a few days’ delay, however, Friday brought a full moon and the wind and cloud cover dissipated sufficiently to proceed. Militarily, the operation was a rousing success. No American lives were lost, and even a helicopter that had sustained some damage was able to return safely. With Maduro gone ordinary Venezuelans will now have the best chance for a decent life in decades. But, as discussed below, the operation’s ultimate success will depend in no small part on what happens next in Venezuela.
Prior to green lighting the raid President Donald Trump gave Maduro one last chance to step down. In a private phone call about a week ago, Trump had told him that he had to step down. “You got to surrender,” he warned. Brazenly, Maduro refused. Trump said Maduro “came close to giving in but stayed put.” He took “the gamble of his life” … and lost.
That act of defiance set in motion the final phase of the secret and risky plan to capture Maduro by force. At 10:46 p.m. ET Friday, Trump gave the final order to proceed.
Trump characterized Maduro’s lair as “a heavily fortified military fortress,” but that did not deter our military from success. Early Saturday morning U.S. warplanes filled the skies above Caracas while Delta Force commandos swooped in on the ground. At least 150 aircraft flew toward Caracas from 20 different locations on both land and sea. The fleet included bombers, fighters and craft that specialized in intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance. The attack was so swift, efficient and precise that Maduro and his wife didn’t even have time to escape into what Trump described as a steel safe room. They were taken “completely by surprise” and whisked away expeditiously. By 3:30 a.m. all U.S. forces were safely out of Venezuelan airspace, and by nightfall the Maduros were in NYC being processed for narcotrafficking and other charges.
The Maduros were expected to be arraigned today, Monday, and be indicted for a scheme in which over the last 14 years a “cycle of narcotics-based corruption line[d] the pockets of Venezuelan officials and their families while also benefiting violent narco-terrorists who had been allowed to operate with impunity on Venezuelan soil and who had helped produce, protect, and transport tons of cocaine to the United States.” Some of this cocaine was laced with fentanyl. According to the CDC there were approximately 76,000 overdose fatalities in just one recent 12-month period. A goodly portion of these fatalities were from drugs that had emanated from Venezuela. During this period Maduro’s brutal socialist dictatorship was so horrific that some eight million Venezuelans fled the country.
The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Maduro and others for:
- Narco-terrorism, i. e. leading a vast drug trafficking network that facilitated the systemic transport of cocaine, fentanyl and other deadly drugs to the U.S.
- Allegedly enriching his family and certain political and military supporters through narcotics and other illegal schemes.
- Rampant corruption including massive embezzlement, bribery, money laundering, and theft of gold from Venezuela’s Central Bank.
Maduro’s treatment of his own people was horrendous. For example, he manipulated elections, imprisoned political opponents, dismantled democratic institutions, used food distribution as a means for social control, arbitrarily imprisoned civic, military, and political leaders that opposed him, and freely committed human rights violations. Moreover, he grossly mismanaged the country’s economy, which resulted in the collapse of its oil industry and an 80% decline in GDP from 2013 – 2020, and his policies created and sustained severe shortages of medicine, food, and other basic necessities and led to a mass exodus of millions of citizens. The result was that a once wealthy country with a thriving economy based on a plethora of oil descended into chaos and ruin.
In addition, Maduro was instigating distress and anxiety throughout the region due to his affiliations with Russia, China, Cuba and Iran. Among other things, Venezuela was the primary source of oil for those countries. In particular, Russia needs the oil to supply its war machine in Ukraine. Depriving them of it was an ancillary benefit.
Also, Maduro had threatened to invade Guyana at some point. The rulers of his neighboring countries might not say it publicly, but I suspect they will not miss him.
Some geopolitical analysts have expressed concern over the ramifications of a regime change. The major ones are internal rather than external. Currently, there is a significant power vacuum, which is an invitation for chaos and anarchy. In that event the current drug and refugee problems would be exacerbated with dire consequences for the security of the region. Trump acknowledged this danger by remarking that “we have a group of people running [the country] until such a time it can be put back on track.”
Delcey Rodriguez, the former vice president and now acting president, has long been a supporter of Maduro’s (although Trump has warned her “if she didn’t cooperate, she would suffer the same fate as Maduro, or worse.”) Furthermore, at the moment, there does not appear to be an opposition leader strong enough to govern the country effectively. Establishing a legitimate governing authority quickly is critical for the long-term success of Operation Absolute Resolve.
Predictably, the usual suspects, both internal (Dem politicians, Trump-haters, and most of the mainstream media) and external (countries such as Brazil, China, Colombia, Mexico, Russia and Iran) have condemned the action. The common criticisms were to characterize it as an unwarranted attack on the sovereignty of another nation, a violation of international law, and a move to gain control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. The first two are overly simplistic and patently false. With respect to the oil reserves American companies were developing it originally. Maduro seized them unlawfully, and better we should have control over the oil than Russia, China and Iran.
Many Dems also complained that they weren’t consulted beforehand, and some opined that such an action required prior congressional approval, although some privately admitted they were happy to see Maduro deposed. To me, these criticisms are disingenuous to say the least. Where were these critics when Muslim terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, or when Russia annexed Crimea and invaded Ukraine?
To me, a legitimate case can be made that Maduro was an illegitimate president. Let’s not forget that he seized the office on January 10, 2019 after declaring himself the winner of what was widely condemned as a rigged election.
Conclusion
In my view despite the criticism in some quarters Trump did the right thing. Once again, the Dems are positioning themselves to be on the wrong side of an 80-20 issue. The perception will be that they are defending a heinous narco-trafficker who abused his people and ruined a once-thriving state. Good luck with that.
Venezuela was, in essence, a failed state that was increasingly falling under the influence of Russia, China, Iran and other bad actors. We couldn’t allow that to stand under any circumstances. The security of the US was at stake. The US has a long history of protecting the Americas from foreign powers’ exerting any influence or establishing any control in the region. It has been a cornerstone of our foreign policy since the Monroe Doctrine was articulated in 1823. Trump’s decisive action debilitated Russia’s, China’s and Iran’s influence in Venezuela, which has been growing, and also served as a warning to other wayward countries in the region that they could be next.
A note of caution: removing Maduro was merely the first step. To ensure success of Operation Absolute Resolve it will be critical to establish a legitimate democratic government in Venezuela without the US getting bogged down. Otherwise, we will be no better off than we were last week.
We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob 