Trump Strikes: Elite Units Kidnap Venezuelan President Maduro
https://www.globalresearch.ca/elite-units-kidnap-venezuelan-president-maduro/5910994
Caracas has been shaken to its foundations following a brutal American assault and the abduction of President Maduro and his wife. Does this mark a return to an era where no sovereign leader is safe from Washington’s reach?
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Starting at 2:00 a.m. local time, the Venezuelan capital was rocked by heavy explosions and low-flying fighter jets. Witnesses reported at least seven major strikes, including hits on the strategic Fuerte Tiuna military base and the La Carlota airfield in the heart of the city.
Large swaths of the capital and surrounding states, such as Miranda and Aragua, were left without power. Images on social media showed massive fireballs and thick plumes of smoke rising above military installations. The population reacted with shock; residents fled into the streets in panic as the sound of rockets thundered over the city.
Via his platform Truth Social, Donald Trump claimed victory. According to the U.S. President, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been captured and removed from the country.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela,” Trump stated.
He announced a press conference for later today at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
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The operation, carried out by elite units, is reminiscent of the 1989 abduction of the President of Panama.
The Venezuelan government has declared a national state of emergency and was blunt regarding the motivation behind the invasion. According to an official statement from Caracas, Washington’s sole objective is to seize the country’s vast oil and mineral reserves.
“The U.S. will not succeed in stealing our riches,” the statement read defiantly.
The attack was not entirely unexpected. In recent months, the U.S. had stationed a massive military force off the Venezuelan coast. There have been dozens of deadly attacks on ships in the region, and a total blockade was imposed on Venezuelan oil exports. Trump had repeatedly declared that President Maduro must step down.
The White House justifies this military aggression by accusing Maduro of ties to drug cartels. However, that argument does not hold water; Colombia and Ecuador remain the primary cocaine routes to the U.S., while Venezuela plays, at most, a supporting role.
During a press conference in Florida, Trump said that the US is going to for the time being run Venezuela until a “a safe, proper and judicious transition” is possible, without giving details. Trump linked this to Venezuela’s oil: major American oil companies would invest billions to repair the oil infrastructure and make a profit. He also warned about a possible second, larger attack.
Why the U.S. Has Waged War Against Venezuela for 25 Years
According to historian Vijay Prashad, the long-standing tensions in Venezuela are not about democracy or drug trafficking, but about control over the world’s largest oil reserves. Since 2001, the U.S. has attempted to dismantle the population’s social project to safeguard the interests of major oil giants.
When then-President Hugo Chávez claimed oil profits for the state in 2001, he chose the people. These revenues allowed the government to build schools, hospitals, and housing through the well-known misiones. For American corporations like ExxonMobil, this was unacceptable. Seeing their profits evaporate, they pressured the U.S. government to intervene, leading to coup attempts and sabotage by the old elite.
After Chávez’s death in 2013, the U.S. intensified a “hybrid war.” Instead of a traditional invasion, the country was economically strangled. Sanctions blocked trade and financial markets, while Western media attributed the resulting poverty solely to internal mismanagement. The goal remains to exhaust the population until they surrender their sovereignty.
General Laura Richardson, former chief of Southern Command, recently admitted the true stakes: control over Latin America’s enormous raw-material wealth – oil, lithium, gold, and rare earths – as the foundation for Western military and technological power, with Venezuela’s oil as the primary trophy. The United States seeks these materials to reduce its dependence on China and prepare for future conflict.
Western Hypocrisy
The kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife and the taking over of the government in Venezuela is simply shocking. It is not only a flagrant violation of international law; it signals that no government leader is safe if they refuse to dance to Washington’s tune. We have entered an era of “brutal imperialism”.
Normally, such open military aggression – the bombing of a capital and the abduction of a sitting head of state – would trigger immediate, stinging condemnations from Western governments, citations of the UN Charter, and threats of sanctions. That is not the case this time.
Kaja Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has not condemned the intervention. On the contrary, she has legitimized it, stating:
“The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition.”
Following the double standards seen regarding Ukraine versus Gaza, this situation further exposes the hypocrisy behind the so-called “rules-based order.” When law is applied selectively, only power politics remains. The mask has slipped.
This act of state terrorism sets a dangerous precedent that could drag the entire Latin American continent into a spiral of economic blackmail, war, and chaos. Those who do not take a stand against this aggression are effectively legitimizing future attacks on Havana, Managua, Bogotá, or Mexico City.
It is urgent that progressive forces worldwide – trade unions, social movements, parties, and intellectuals – organize a broad front against this imperialist war logic. This is about more than solidarity with one nation; it is a struggle for peace, sovereignty, and social justice throughout Latin America and beyond.
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Marc Vandepitte is a member of the Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity and was an observer during the presidential elections in Venezuela. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
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