The removal of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro from power is a watershed moment for the United States, the Western Hemisphere, and a world that has grown far too accustomed to tolerating narco-states masquerading as sovereign governments. Maduro presided over one of the most corrupt, brutal, and destabilizing regimes of the modern era, one that hollowed out Venezuela’s economy, drove millions into exile, partnered openly with transnational criminal networks, and flooded the hemisphere with illegal narcotics. The world is safer with him out of power.
The Trump administration deserves credit for accomplishing what years of half-measures, diplomatic indulgence, and rhetorical condemnations failed to achieve. It recognized the Maduro regime for what it was: a criminal enterprise operating behind the façade of government and acted decisively. Moral clarity and strategic resolve mattered, and in this case, they produced results.
