Dictator can no longer threaten Americans

• U.S. Senator Roger Wicker writes that Venezuelans and freedom-loving people everywhere rejoice at Maduro’s downfall.

Americans woke up on Saturday, January 3rd, to some very good news: Nicolas Maduro, an illegitimate dictator, would no longer be able to oppress the people of Venezuela or threaten the United States. Under cover of darkness, American forces neutralized Venezuelan air defenses, stormed Maduro’s compound, and arrested the tyrant. These courageous service members brought Maduro to a Brooklyn jail, where he awaits trial for drug trafficking crimes.

The mission was swift, covert, and incredibly complex. No other nation could have pulled off such a feat. The operation involved more than 150 military aircraft flying from 20 bases. Nearly 200 service members participated. None were lost. The planning took months, and the details stayed under wraps. The world saw that American service members remain unmatched in professionalism and precision.

Maduro Threatened the U.S.

Venezuelans and freedom-loving people everywhere rejoice at Maduro’s downfall. Under his thumb, the once prosperous people of Venezuela suffered. Violence grew rampant as Maduro kept citizens in poverty, even while he grew rich on black market oil. He threw dissidents in prison, where many remain. Maduro lost the past two presidential elections. But he violated the will of his people and illegally stayed in power.

For years, Americans have recognized that Maduro was also a threat to our security. In 2020, an American grand jury indicted him as a drug trafficker. His administration empowered cartels who shipped deadly drugs around the world, including to our cities and towns. His abuses led eight million migrants to flee Venezuela, contributing to our overwhelmed immigration system.

He also invited the world’s worst thugs to make a home in South America. In the hours before his arrest, Maduro wrote a social media post about his friendship with the Chinese Communist Party, writing, “China and Venezuela! United!” No other South American country receives more loans and buys more weapons from Beijing.

Maduro has cozied up to Russia and Iran, too. Last year, he signed partnerships with both autocratic nations. These leaders share a commitment to oppressing people violently. Maduro had planned to supplement that by collaborating economically and militarily.

Venezuela Has a Chance to Change

Those alliances very much concern the United States, because they allow our enemies to influence events in America’s neighborhood. President Trump correctly determined that this trend could not continue, and he took action. There is always a risk to deposing a dictator. The Venezuelan people must act quickly to build up their country. But the status quo was also a risk. The Biden administration opted not to arrest Maduro, and the dictator felt free to mistreat the Venezuelan people and partner with our enemies. The longer Maduro remained in power, the more our problems in South America would multiply.

Instead of letting these problems fester, we are giving change a chance in Venezuela and elsewhere. Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador are taking hopeful steps toward freer markets and people. Perhaps Venezuela can join its neighbors. At the very least, the world now sees that China, Russia, and Iran are unreliable partners in a pinch. Today, we are now enforcing the sanctions that Beijing and Moscow previously helped Venezuela evade.

President Trump’s decision to arrest Maduro was correct. It is the best shot at freedom that Venezuelans have been given in years. In time, I am optimistic that the country can work toward peace and prosperity, which will benefit Venezuelans and all its neighbors in our hemisphere.