In the most aggressive display of American military power since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. forces conducted a dramatic midnight seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday. The operation followed a surprise incursion into Caracas that was punctuated by overnight explosions, culminating in the couple being transported via warship to New York to face federal narco-terrorism charges. Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort, President Donald Trump declared that the United States would temporarily “run” the South American nation, suggesting that a transition team led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Gen. Dan Caine was already poised to take control. In a statement that immediately ignited international debate over sovereignty, the President explicitly noted his intention to tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves for global sale.
The precision of the extraction was the result of months of clandestine rehearsal. Gen. Dan Caine revealed that U.S. forces had practiced the maneuver on a replica of the presidential compound, utilizing intelligence so detailed it covered Maduro’s daily habits, diet, and even his pets. While the administration framed the deadly strikes and ground raid as a necessary escalation in the war on drugs, legal experts have raised stark questions regarding the legality of seizing a sitting head of state under international law. Despite the tactical success of the raid, the political situation in Caracas remains dangerously fluid. Trump claimed that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was cooperating with the U.S. and had been sworn in as president; however, Rodríguez appeared on state television shortly after to brand the operation an “atrocity” and “armed aggression,” showing no sign of the compliance suggested by the White House.
The fallout from the incursion was felt immediately across the hemisphere. The FAA restricted airspace over the Caribbean and Venezuela, grounding thousands of holiday travelers and sparking chaos at regional airports. While jubilant crowds of Venezuelan exiles gathered in South Florida to celebrate the end of the Maduro era, anti-war protesters in Los Angeles and Las Vegas marched under banners reading “No blood for oil,” condemning the move as a blatant grab for resources. As Venezuelans in Caracas scrambled to stockpile supplies amidst the uncertainty, the world now watches to see if this unprecedented military gamble will lead to a democratic transition or a prolonged and volatile American occupation.
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