The capture of Nicolás Maduro on 3 January 2026 represents perhaps the most audacious application of American power in the Western Hemisphere this century. While the images of Maduro in U.S. custody have stunned the world, the operation was the inevitable climax of a decades-long struggle over oil, ideology, and the very definition of sovereignty in the Americas.

Codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, the mission began in the early hours of Saturday when U.S. Army Delta Force units, supported by the FBI and DEA, executed a "snatch-and-grab" at Maduro’s fortified residence within the Fuerte Tiuna military complex. The strike was over in less than 30 minutes, ending with Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, being seized and transported to New York to face narco-terrorism charges. President Trump marked the moment on social media with a stark declaration: "American justice has finally arrived for the people of Venezuela."

This was not a sudden strike, but the culmination of a months-long "asphyxiation" campaign. Starting in late 2025, the U.S. administration intensified a propaganda effort that reframed Venezuela not as a failing state, but as a "Criminal Enterprise." The military precursor was Operation Southern Spear, a naval "quarantine" launched on 17 December 2025. U.S. Navy vessels began seizing tankers, such as the Skipper, accusing them of transporting "blood oil" to fund terrorism. By New Year's Day, Venezuelan oil exports were paralysed, leaving the regime with no revenue and a growing domestic crisis.

To understand this intervention, one must look back to 1999 and the rise of Hugo Chávez. Chávez won the 1998 election by tapping into the deep-seated anger of a population that saw its vast oil wealth drained by a corrupt elite while poverty remained rampant. His "Bolivarian Revolution" sought to use oil revenues for social welfare but placed Venezuela on a collision course with Washington. The turning point was the 2002 coup attempt, which Chávez—and later Maduro—insisted was backed by the CIA. This event birthed two decades of distrust, leading Venezuela to seize control of oil fields run by American private companies and forge an "Axis of Resistance" with Cuba, Russia, and Iran.

Diagnosing Pakistan’s Economic And Governance Crisis Amid Elite Capture And Corruption

From the........

© The Friday Times