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January 6, 2026
In an aggressive move that has reshuffled international politics, President Trump ordered a military assault on Venezuela and arrested the socialist thug President Maduro and his wife after an American indictment accused them of drug trafficking. No Americans were killed but some Venezuelans and at least thirty Cubans were killed
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. Maduro after being captured
But this was the easy part. As General Colin Powell famously observed after President George W. Bush invaded Iraq, “If you break it, you own it.”
President Trump now owns Venezuela. If a stable democratic government can be established quickly, President Trump will smell like a rose and tyrants in Iran, Cuba and Nicaragua could be overthrown. If not, not only will he be blamed for feckless “gringo imperialism,” but tyrants across the planet will be emboldened.
But how did we get here?
Venezuela is in northern South America and has a gorgeous Caribbean coastline. It is blessed with abundant natural resources and so much oil that it is a founding member of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). Military dictatorships were the norm, but democracy was making progress so that by the 1950s, Venezuela was the fourth wealthiest country on the planet.
But in the 1990s, oil prices collapsed leading to austerity measures that led to discontent and the founder of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, Hugo Chavez, to attempt a coup. Although unsuccessful, Chavez was able to win the Presidency in 1998 and instituted socialist policies. Awash in oil money, Chavez spent lavishly while Venezuela thrived. But as Margaret Thatcher said, “They [Socialists] always run out of other people’s money”.
And that is exactly what happened.
Chavez passed away from cancer in 2013 and was replaced by his henchman Nicolás Maduro. But by now, socialist policies sent Venezuela’s economy into a freefall and Maduro did what tyrants always do when their power is threatened – confiscate the guns of the population.
Now with unchallenged power, Maduro was able to brutalize the helpless unarmed Venezuelan people. The economy continued to collapse, inflation skyrocketed to 10,000%, starvation became rampant and 14-year-old girls were forced into prostitution to support their families. Twenty percent of the population, seven million people, fled the country, including hundreds of thousands illegally to the United States.
In the 2024 election, a courageous woman, Maria Machado, arose to challenge Maduro for the presidency. But she was so popular that corrupt judges barred her from running for office. She was replaced by Edmondo Gonzalez of the Unitary Platform political alliance.
But then Gonzalez won by over 70% Thus the corrupt judges declared the election invalid and issued an arrest warrant for Gonalez who was granted asylum in Spain.
Meanwhile, the economy collapsed further and Venezuelans continued to flee while Maduro and his henchmen developed a lucrative drug smuggling operation to United States.
President Trump wanted him removed and started blowing up the drug runners’ boats while stopping Venezuela’s oil shipments. He gave Maduro a chance to leave but Maduro refused and has now suffered the consequences.
But now what? President Trump said we are going to run the country. But we have no troops deployed there. How are we going to run the country?
President Trump stated he will work with the Vice President Delcy Rodríguez who is now the President. But as soon as she got off the phone with President Trump, this avowed socialist stated President Trump’s action was an “illegitimate military aggression” and characterized the removal of Maduro as “kidnapping.” The military has pledged their support to her and meanwhile, shortages of food are escalating.
Is this running the country?
Maria Machado states she wants to return to Venezuela and run in a free and fair election. But what if President Rodriquez and the military don’t want elections?
Perhaps continued stopping of oil shipments will force Rodriguez and the military to capitulate. And perhaps not.
But President Trump has painted himself in a corner if he does not have a plan to stabilize Venezuela without the use of American troops. And if he places American troops in Venezuela, how long will it be until one or more are killed? How will the average American react when that happens? How long will Venezuela and the rest of Latin America tolerate “gringo imperialism?”
When Fidel Castro died in 2016, the political establishment offered little criticism of his legacy, but not President Trump who stated: “Today marks the passage of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of human rights.
President Kennedy tried to overthrow Castro with the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion. Will removing Maduro be President Trump’s Bay of Pigs? Or will the President be able to stabilize Venezuela and then remove this evil Cuban communist government that has totally rapped and decimated this once thriving county? And will this momentum remove the unpopular Ayatollah in Iran?
President Trump’s legacy and geopolitics will depend on how these events unfold.
Read Dr. Bentivegna’s books for free:
Two novels on Fairfield County politics and race relations, The Lords of Greenwich and Respect.
Dr. Bentivegna’s year in Haiti as a young doctor. The Neglected and Abused: A Physician’s Year in Haiti.
Contact Dr. Bentivegna: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter (X) @joebentivegnamd
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