A swift US-led operation abducted Nicolás Maduro without meaningful resistance, exposing the extent of prior strategic penetration and institutional paralysis within Venezuela. Far from improvisation, the event signals a deliberate reassertion of US hemispheric dominance with far-reaching geopolitical consequences.

No interception was reported, no radar challenge made public, and no sustained engagement occurred as US helicopters accessed sensitive airspace and secured key locations.

The capture itself was executed rapidly, with Maduro taken from the capital and transferred out of the country within hours, underscoring the degree to which the Venezuelan security apparatus was either neutralised or unwilling to respond. Power disruptions and the absence of coordinated military countermeasures reinforced the impression of a state already operationally compromised.

What followed was not an immediate institutional vacuum: Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumed governmental responsibilities, signalling continuity rather than collapse. However, in his press conference, Trump announced that the United States would administer Venezuela without providing further details. This proposed US administration would ostensibly last until a Venezuelan opposition figure favourable to Washington assumed power, ensuring unrestricted American access to Venezuelan oil and mineral resources.

The speed and ease of the operation suggested prior intelligence dominance and internal paralysis, rather than battlefield superiority alone.

The Operation and the Erosion of International Norms

The abduction of Nicolás Maduro was........

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