The capture will be studied and analyzed by militaries all around the world. It seemed like a flawless operation by a superpower taking out a small-time dictator who had a rather significant armed guard defending him. Some of the high-tech weaponry that was used proved to be very effective. Armed guards reported feeling sick and ineffective. That is rather cool, yet truly frightening.
The most impressive part of the entire operation was the willingness of the Trump administration to make the bold move in the first place. On the one hand, it seems rather ruthless and dictatorial. After all, is that what superpowers should be doing? Should they be removing leaders of foreign countries that they think should be arrested? On that level of reasoning, Barack Obama could theoretically have removed leaders that he also believed were violating international law?
But that is exactly why what matters most are the facts about the Venezuelan leader. Maduro was in no way an elected leader of his country. He basically ignored the elections, seized power, and basically ran an international narcotics war against the United States and oppressed his own people. Over time, it will probably become clear to everyone in the United States that this was one of the smartest and moral moves that Donald Trump ever ordered – despite it appearing as a very controversial move.
But let’s not overlook the economic aspects of this takedown. Donald Trump is driven more than anything else at this point in his Presidency to win the midterm elections in Congress. Either the Republicans stay in the majority of Congress or Trump will find himself dragged once again into endless impeachment proceedings. The norms of lawfare among the progressive community have no red lines and they resort to that line of battle when they have no majority.
Donald Trump is desperately trying to use whatever financial leverage he can muster up to boost the economy in battleground States in order to win the midterms battle. This attack was definitely part of his plan to bring down the price of a tank of gas for Americans during 2026.
The economic ramifications of the Venezuela shake down are indeed enormous and are certainly a big part of Trump’s calculus along with his controversial international tariffs. But the moral high ground is indeed there for what Trump ordered. It is a very controversial new precedent. But it is a worthwhile risk as massive narcotic exports to a country are indeed a modern form of terrorism that must be stopped.