Staff Reports
The early-morning operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power was a jaw-dropping moment of American resolve that sent a clear message to cartels and autocrats alike. U.S. forces reportedly seized Maduro and his wife and transported them out of Caracas, an outcome President Trump announced publicly as his administration moves to bring alleged narco-terrorists to justice.
Within hours the commander-in-chief leaned into the moment on social media, posting images and video that framed the capture as a victory for the rule of law and for American security. The president’s online posts, amplified across conservative platforms, purposely leaned into a bold, unapologetic style that has been missing from Washington for too long.
Meanwhile, official White House channels have not been shy about using modern communications to celebrate the mission, a fact that has driven the outrage machine on the left into full meltdown. Posting memes and sharp-edged messaging has become part of this administration’s playbook — a deliberate cultural counterpunch that the left cannot stomach because it punctures their narrative of American weakness.
Of course, the predictable chorus of international and liberal hand-wringing followed almost immediately, with some calling the operation a breach of sovereignty and others forecasting catastrophe. The commentary from global elites and partisan critics reads more like moral preening than a serious policy critique; many of these same voices cheered when Maduro courted his narco-state friends or when his cronies shipped poison into American cities.
Reality on the ground is messy, and social media has been flooded with manipulated images and bogus clips trying to rewrite what happened — a reminder that the information war is now part of kinetic operations. Responsible reporting and a skeptical public matter more than ever, but there’s no substitute for decisive action when criminal regimes threaten our citizens.
This moment exposes two Americas: one that wants results and will hold bad actors to account, and another that reflexively defends tyrants when it suits their ideological playbook. Conservatives should be unapologetic in celebrating the restoration of accountability and in insisting that American power be used to protect our people and interests abroad.
Call it bold, call it brash — call it what you will — but after years of hollow speeches and weak-kneed diplomacy, tonight the United States acted with purpose. Let the critics scream; history will remember who stood up to the drug cartels, the kleptocrats, and the regimes that trafficked in misery.
