When the dawn of 2026 arrived, Venezuela’s leaders, entangled in corruption and improperly managing their country’s wealth, encountered a surprise that caught them off guard. As Joshua Treviño of National Review wrote, “They trafficked the drugs that killed and addicted millions of our neighbours and family, and they got away with it. They formed alliances with cartels dealing in goods and people, and they got away with it. They entered into the business of narco-terrorism, and they got away with it. They invited the worst enemies of the United States into the Americas — the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians — and they got away with it. They did all this for years, and they got away with it.” A spectacular American military mission ended it. Handcuffed following the reading of his rights, Nicolás Maduro, who twice ignored election results, received repeated opportunities to leave, and deserves nothing less than the rancid jail he will surely soon occupy, entered custody. The episode presents five lessons for Americans, her allies, her enemies, and the rest of the world. The lessons serve as building blocks. Treviño provided an analysis second to none in his article entitled, (In Venezuela, the Era of Escaping Consequences Is Over). This article will endeavour to comment on each.
The first lesson pits America against a specific type of regime in its power sphere. One that partners with bad actors and forms a state-cartel to create benefits for both. The trafficking of drugs in Venezuela, as it is in the hemispheric countries of Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua, creates problems for America. She has little interest in policing these activities, considering the human cost to her citizens. The early morning surprise visit sent a coherent message that the U.S. has changed its policy. The Trump Administration has breathed new life into the Monroe Doctrine (Monroe’s objective was to prevent additional European colonization, or recolonization of newly independent states, of the Western Hemisphere. In effect, the doctrine claimed the Americas as an exclusive U.S. sphere of influence. Monroe pledged to stay out of European affairs); and the Roosevelt Corollary (President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1904 policy, an addition to the Monroe Doctrine, that asserted the U.S. had the right to intervene in Latin American nations to stabilize them and prevent European interference, acting as an “international police power” for “chronic wrongdoing” or instability in the Western Hemisphere, justified by events like Venezuela’s debt crisis).
The second lesson emphasizes that implementing “regime change” requires both a different approach and considerable skill. Replacing Maduro with more of his inner circle helps no one, but an American puppet comes with its own dangers. Regime change does not best describe the Trump Administration’s actions in Venezuela. It left the second-in-command in place, choosing to carry out a limited action of arresting Maduro and his wife, reading them their rights, and bringing them to the United States to face prosecution. What happens next remains unclear. President Donald Trump suggested America would run the country for a bit. Isn’t Secretary of State Marco Rubio busy enough? Likely, the infrastructure in place will remain. The U.S. will attempt to negotiate with Delcy Rodríguez while aiming to restore elections and enable Maria Corina Machado to claim the office she won in 2024. If America can finesse this result, or at least allow Venezuelans to express their popular will, the critics or skeptics of Trump’s maneuver will have to find other reasons to show their disapproval.
Treviño’s third point asks Americans to trust their military’s brilliant operational skill. No army in the world could have pulled off what the United States just did. Think of the secrecy, the speed, and the collaboration required. The sheer magnitude of what the U.S. military accomplished should send shivers up the back of its opponents. After embedding CIA plants into Maduro’s circle, the home offices shared the information gathered. This provided the special units with the opportunity for repeated practice. They pulled it off at substantial risk to themselves, but with no loss of life or equipment failure, which speaks to the untold hours of preparation, thought, and relentless effort each of them exhibited. The movement was artistic, the decisions were well-timed, and the progress was masterful. When faced with the might of the American military, the Chinese will want to consider the consequences. A thorough analysis and breakdown of the plan will force those opposed to America to review their options. Do they want to risk the humiliation Maduro faces? Will they want to embark on a path that might bring them into contact with a fighting machine as powerful as it is aggressive? As Treviño intimates, America has no parallel militarily. General Dan Cain, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, read the following statement shortly after the invasion:
“Over the course of the night, aircraft began launching from 20 different bases on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere. In total, more than 150 aircraft — bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, and rotary wing were in the air last night. Thousands and thousands of hours of experience were airborne. Our youngest crew member was 20, and our oldest crew member was 49. And there’s simply no match for American military might.
“As the night began, the helicopters took off with the extraction force, which included law enforcement officers, and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the water (to avoid radar detection). As they approached Venezuelan shores, the United States began layering different effects provided by Spacecom, Cybercom, and other members of the interagency to create a pathway. Overhead, those forces were protected by aircraft from the United States Marines, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force and the Air National Guard. The force included F-22s, F-35s, F-18s, EA-18s, E2S, B1 bombers, and other support aircraft, as well as numerous remotely piloted drones. As the force began to approach Caracas, the joint air component began dismantling and disabling the air defence systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area.”
Treviño’s fourth assertion bears understanding as events unfold in Iran. The criminal activity the Maduro regime oversaw included multinational support. Not only were nations in the region involved, including Cuba, Mexico, and Nicaragua, but Hamas had involvement, a terrorist organization which the Iranian regime has funded and supplied for decades. Russia, China, and Iran all had a presence in the area at the time of Maduro’s extraction. As Treviño stressed, the air defence system that the American pilots confronted was Russian. The casualties at Maduro’s compound included 37 Cubans. If people have any notion that Trump has dreamt up an excuse for this incursion, re-read the Monroe Doctrine. Over 200 years of American foreign policy support Trump. The raid’s protestors, fresh from their pro-Palestinian gigs, are ramping up their support for the Venezuelan dictator. Let the record show that they are also ignoring two centuries of American power because two weak presidents served before and around Trump’s more historic and muscular approach.
The last lesson. This expedition signals the beginning of a greater process. As stated, there are many foreign actors in this hemisphere. Like cops who have to clean up cities neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood, when gangs, criminal organizations, or the Mob take over, the U.S. will have to assert its strength once again in the Americas to gain control. With the expectation of Congressional approval, it will be essential to establish a long-term military presence in the Caribbean Basin. The Venezuelan operation’s success highlights a problem that had become more than Trump or his team could stomach. The era of American force has returned. Some will call it bullying, some will suggest America is trying to police the world, and others will celebrate the restoration of gunboat diplomacy. Regardless, lessons abound, and those world leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney in Canada, who choose to ignore the obvious should be prepared to deal with an America as determined as its leader.
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
