Trump’s arrest of Maduro is a victory over corruption, communism and isolationism

OPINION:

In the early hours of Saturday, President Trump liberated Venezuela from the iron grip of Nicolas Maduro, a communist dictator who endangered the United States and ruled his country with cruelty. The Chavista dictator, who assumed power in 2013 after Hugo Chavez died, was brought to justice after he was captured by U.S. military forces during a “large-scale” nighttime military operation, Mr. Trump said.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The operation was done in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement.”

Mr. Maduro was arrested six years after Mr. Trump’s Justice Department filed criminal charges accusing him of conspiring with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels to use cocaine as a way to “flood the United States” with illegal drugs.

Although Mr. Maduro and his wife are the only ones known to be arrested, this is most likely the beginning of the Chavista regime’s collapse. The Justice Department’s 2020 charges also include key members of the Maduro cartel, such as the vice president of the economy, minister of defense and the chief Supreme Court justice.

Former U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said at the time charges were filed that “the scope and magnitude of [Maduro’s] drug trafficking … was made possible only because Maduro and others corrupted the institutions of Venezuela and provided political and military protection for the rampant narco-terrorism crimes described in our charges.”

Mr. Berman said Mr. Maduro and “other defendants expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine to undermine the health and well-being of our nation” by working with “cartel members” who “held lofty titles in Venezuela’s political and military leadership.” He noted that such conduct was not “statecraft” and rightly accused Mr. Maduro of having “betrayed the Venezuelan people and corrupted Venezuelan institutions to line their pockets with drug money.”

In addition securing the Western Hemisphere of Mr. Maduro’s drug trafficking, Mr. Trump has offered to hope to millions of Venezuelans who have reached a breaking point from the abuse they have suffered under Mr. Maduro’s yoke. The communist ruler engaged in arbitrary arrest and detention, unfair trials and torture, including “beatings, suffocation, electric shocks and threats, and sexual violence against women,” according to a 2024 Amnesty International report.

Mr. Maduro also weaponized starvation. In 2018, Venezuela’s inflation rate hit 13,000% with empty stores, leaving people sifting through garbage for scraps. The hunger rate was so devastating that it quickly became known as the “Maduro diet.” In a shameless, ruthless move, Mr. Maduro used his power over ration cards to gain votes.

“Everyone who has this card must vote,” Mr. Maduro said during his campaign rallies, making it clear that support of his regime was the only way to get assistance from the government, which controlled the entire country. “I give, and you give.”

If the Chavista regime collapses in Venezuela and more democratic-minded leaders, such as opposition members Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado, can lead, then the people will have a democratic future. Mr. Gonzalez was internationally recognized as the victor of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential elections after Ms. Machado was barred from the election.

Despite this stunning victory for democracy, freedom, law and order, isolationists on both the right and left will condemn Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the administration’s courage. They will argue that the U.S. is interfering in foreign affairs, that the president’s actions are unlawful and that the removal of a brutal dictator will cause more instability.

These are the arguments of small minds. Since Ronald Reagan, no president has made such a consequential move in holding communists accountable for their crimes.

Legally, congressional approval is not necessary for limited engagements initiated by the president in his power as commander in chief of the armed forces. In 1863, during the Civil War, the Supreme Court ruled in the Prize Cases that when the U.S. is at risk, the president has not only the right but also the obligation to defend it.

Politically, isolationists fail to see that when any people are oppressed, it is a threat to the free world. They fail to see the danger of a criminal cartel such as the Chavista regime, which abused its political power to masquerade as a legitimate government to profit from drug trafficking.

Mr. Maduro’s crimes of oppression have caused other harm to the U.S. They were the trigger for the largest migration crisis in our hemisphere. Mr. Trump has made history by giving hope to millions who have been displaced throughout the Western Hemisphere.

This may be only the beginning.

The complete collapse of the Maduro Chavista regime would have a domino effect on Cuba, which is dependent on Caracas for oil imports and other vital supplies essential to its energy system and economy. With Havana already on the brink of collapse, the corrupt Castro-Diaz-Canel dynasty’s time is limited.

Democratization of these nations would benefit the U.S. by ridding our hemisphere of the Russian and Chinese intelligence apparatus that aids them, crushing the drug cartels that conspire with them and ending the migration crisis that has burdened our border.

The arrest and removal of Mr. Maduro from Venezuela is a victory for the United States and the cause of freedom that should be celebrated.

Jeffrey Scott Shapiro is the former Trump-appointed senior adviser and director to Radio and Television Marti, the Voice of America network that broadcasts to Cuba. He now serves as a member of The Washington Times editorial board.

Correction: A previous version of the column misspelled Edmundo González Urrutia’s name.