In the early dawn hours of January 3, the US military struck a decisive blow against the Chavista regime in Venezuela. Under the cover of darkness, elements of the United States Special Forces zipped into the night skies of Caracas, broke into President Nicolas Maduro’s home, captured him and his wife, and exfiltrated them to the United States. No casualties were reported, and it took several hours before the regime could even reconfigure itself to mount a meaningful response.

The best Caracas could do was to issue a series of strong rebukes over the attack. For his part, President Donald Trump put the leadership of Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia on notice as possibly being next on Washington’s hit list. As the Chavista regime attempted to reorganize, it became clear that power did not shift to democratic forces in Venezuela.

Indeed, the regime exists in a strange state of make-believe.

Delcy Rodriguez, the country’s vice-president, is ostensibly the new leader of the Chavista regime that has persisted in power for far too long. Yet the vice president finds herself spewing her wrath over the Trump administration’s arrest—kidnapping—of Maduro and his wife from Moscow.

Delcy Rodriguez’s brother,

© The National Interest