The United States finally did what needed to be done in Venezuela: it ended the crisis Maduro nightmare. Credit where it is due – this required courage, clarity and determined leadership, and President Trump proved willing to act when others hesitated for years.
Leaving Maduro in office would not only have condemned millions more Venezuelans to hunger, repression and exile – it would also have given Russia, China and Iran a permanent bridgehead in our own hemisphere and privileged access to the world’s largest oil reserves. Ousting Maduro was not reckless interventionism. It was the only responsible step to protect American interests, stabilize the region, and prevent our adversaries from turning Venezuela into an energy-rich outpost of anti-American power.
That reality has been clear for years. Venezuela under Maduro was never just a poorly governed country; it was a criminal authoritarian state, driven together by drug traffickers, Cuban intelligence services, corrupt generals and ideological militants.
TRUMP PROMISES US TO LEAD VENEZUELA AS HE REVEALS IF HE HAS SPOKEN TO DELCY RODRÍGUEZ
In the meantime, Russia and China not passively observe. They entrenched themselves in the arteries of the Venezuelan economy. Beijing acted as banker, oil lifeline and chief sanctions dodger, while Moscow entrenched itself deeply in Venezuela’s energy, military and security structures.
Together they were not trying to save Venezuela. They were turning it into a strategic extension of their global challenge to the United States – a forward base with oil.
If we don’t anchor Venezuela securely in a stable Western orientation, our adversaries will – and they will do it with steel, hardware, advisors and influence, not speeches.
If the United States had stood by, the consequences would have gone far beyond human suffering. Russia and China would have secured long-term preferential control over Venezuelan crude – not just as customers, but as geopolitical stakeholders. That would mean selling oil at a discount, securing supply lines and making them immune to American influence, and generating huge revenues to finance hostile agendas.
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Worse still, it would have consolidated an authoritarian position in the Western Hemisphere, with direct influence on regional politics and global energy markets. Doing nothing would not have been restraint. It would have been surrender.
And anyone who rejects the idea that Russia or China would exploit a power vacuum is not paying attention. Both would move quickly to expand their footprints: Moscow would seek to re-establish a visible military presence — from the deployment of rotary bombers to access to the navy — while Beijing would pursue dual-use ports, intelligence platforms, advanced surveillance and long-term power tied to energy.
It would be the height of strategic folly to dismiss this threat as hypothetical. If we don’t anchor Venezuela securely in a stable Western orientation, our adversaries will – and they will do it with steel, hardware, advisors and influence, not speeches.
Nor should we ignore the geopolitical argument that others will inevitably make. The world has not escaped the notice that NATO is on the Russian border and that the United States is supporting Taiwan against Beijing’s ambitions. This is not the redux of the Cuban Missile Crisis, nor should we pretend that it is. But precisely because the global situation is already so tense, allowing Russia or China to plant hard power footprints in Venezuela would accelerate rather than avoid confrontation. Leaving Venezuela “alone” does not lead to neutrality. It leads to escalation – on terms dictated by Moscow and Beijing.
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But removing Maduro is just the beginning. It is the beginning of the most critical phase. Venezuela today is not a clean canvas waiting for democratic painting. It is a heavily armed, ideologically divided landscape. Chavist militias, criminal power structures and guerrilla factions are real, violent and deeply invested in their own survival. Without disciplined stabilization, Venezuela will not become a peaceful democracy – it will become chaos.
That hard truth leads to another that many policy purists resent: the transitional force will necessarily include figures from within the old system. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is one of them. She is not a liberal reformer. Her career, rhetoric and loyalty to Chavismo are unmistakable. And yet it is increasingly likely that Rodríguez helped facilitate Maduro’s removal – whether out of instinct for self-preservation, ambition or a belated recognition that the revolution had reached a dead end.
That matters a lot.
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Rodríguez has something that democratic reformers like María Corina Machado do not: credibility among the armed elements that actually need to be controlled—the guerrillas, colectivos, and militant loyalists who are unlikely to simply greet and disarm a new democratic leadership. Rodríguez speaks their language. She commands their grudging respect. And yes – her periodic anti-American outbursts should be understood for what they are: political isolation, theater designed to reassure militants that they are not bowing to Washington, while she quietly redirects the stabilization transition in line with US objectives.
That does not mean Rodríguez should lead Venezuela’s future. But it could mean she is uniquely positioned to lead the country through its dangerous present — by neutralizing those who would otherwise fight, break the country or drag Venezuela into a protracted uprising. Stability requires sequencing: security first, institutional control second, full democratic renewal third. Those who demand immediate democratic purity will inadvertently lead to disaster.
The United States and its democratic partners must therefore remain engaged and unapologetic. Venezuela needs a rebuilt security architecture. Militias must be disarmed. The army must be professionalized. Borders, ports, oil facilities, refineries and infrastructure must be secured. Criminal and political coercion networks must be dismantled rather than pushed underground and resurfaced later. This is not an ‘occupation’. It is stabilization – the foundation on which a shattered nation can stand.
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The stakes are higher than in Caracas. If Washington walks away now, Russia and China will immediately come back. They will re-entrench, refinance and regain their influence. They will secure privileged access to Venezuelan crude oil and exploit it globally. Iran will deepen secret networks and financial operations. Venezuela would once again find itself in an authoritarian atmosphere – only next time with opponents who are better entrenched and much harder to oust.
But if we get the job done right, the benefit is historic. A stable, sovereign, free-market Venezuela, aligned with democratic partners, becomes a force for strength in the hemispheric region critical energy supplier for the free world and a blunt rejection of the fatalistic idea that once authoritarianism hardens it cannot be reversed.
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There is also a moral obligation. Millions of Venezuelans have starved, fled and suffered under Maduro. Families broken up. A nation that once represented opportunity and dignity was reduced to repression and scarcity. To step aside would have been complicity dressed up as prudence. The United States ultimately chose leadership. Leadership requires endurance.
Maduro is gone. Now America must finish the job – deny Russia and China a strategic foothold, guarantee freedom from Venezuelan oil fuels instead of repression, and help 30 million people regain a normal life. The world is watching. Our opponents are watching. Now is the time to prove that when America leads with clarity and determination, it not only drives out tyrants, it shapes history.
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