Maduro’s capture: What comes next?

By Charles Murray
Guest columnist

Successful commando missions, such as the capture of Venezuelan dictator/president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are exciting attention-getters, guaranteed to set global news aglow.  

On Jan. 3, U.S. Delta Force soldiers accomplished this, and, predictably, most of the world is talking about it and the U.S. military strikes on Venezuela that accompanied it.
    
The United Staes offered a $50 million bounty on President Maduro in August 2025, accusing him of drug trafficking with the narco-terrorist Cartel de los Soles (a.k.a. Cartel of the Suns) and even being its leader.  This cartel is also known for supporting and financing foreign terrorists, as well as being involved with human smuggling and trafficking, extortion, sexual exploitation of women and children and money laundering.
    
President Trump said the U.S. would “run Venezuela” after the military operations early Saturday morning of Jan. 3. Trump added that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was “sworn in” Saturday as president.  

Rodriguez denounced Maduro’s removal as “illegal kidnapping,” and “shameful.”  

Trump said the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition can be ensured.” He added: “U.S. oil companies will fix the oil infrastructure,” and “start making money for the country.”
    
Maria Corina Machado, former Deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela, also a Yale graduate, stated: “Venezuelans, the hour of freedom has arrived!”  

In Doral, Florida, where the highest concentration of Venezuelans in the U.S. reside, Venezuelans began dancing, singing and waving flags in the middle of the night. One resident, Yajairo, originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, said with strong emotion: “Thank you, Lord, thank the president of the United States – I’ve been waiting for years - he’s done so much damage.”
    
Venezuelan journalist Mary Triny Mena reported: “Many Venezuelans believe President Maduro was captured just so the United States can gain control of Venezuelan oil.” Opinions in Venezuela are divided about Maduro’s departure and Trump’s pledge to let the U.S. run their country for an unknown length of time.
    
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), condemned President Trump’s capture of Maduro, and our military operations against Venezuela, citing that it was illegal and unconstitutional, warning that it violates international law, and that only congress has the exclusive authority to declare war. Furthermore, Sanders stated: “Trump campaigned for president on an ‘America First,’ platform. He claimed to be a ‘peace candidate.’ At a time when 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, when our healthcare system is collapsing, when people cannot afford housing, and AI threatens millions of jobs, it is time for the president to focus on the crises facing this country and end military adventurism abroad. Trump is failing in his job to ‘run’ the United States. He should not be trying to ‘run’ Venezuela.”
    
Be it noted that Bernie Sanders is a socialist, and his outrage may be partly personal, since Maduro is also a socialist. Though I do believe that Trump should fix the aforementioned American issues Sanders listed, it seems that Sanders forgets that there is widespread international consensus that Maduro is a brutal dictator, accused of torturing, jailing and exiling political opponents, killing protesters, suppressing dissent and free speech, and doing little to stop the severe economic crisis in Venezuela.  

There is currently widespread poverty, and the economy shrunk 75-80% over the last decade, one of the largest peacetime declines in history. Food shortages and lack of basic services are commonplace.  

It’s no secret that Trump is very interested in Venezuela’s oil reserves, as it has the largest proven reserves in the world, even more than Saudi Arabia. I have no doubt he will find a way for the United States to profit from them as well. But if everything we have heard about Maduro is true, I believe arresting Maduro will prove a positive move to Venezuelans and us.   

I spoke to several Venezuelan refugees in the last few years, and they informed me that most people live in fear under Maduro’s regime, and he does little to fix their economy. Hopefully, both our countries will benefit from the actions President Trump has taken, as well as the future plans he has.