The Media Line: Venezuelan Academic Calls Maduro’s Capture a ‘Milestone in International Politics and in Latin America’ 

Venezuelan Academic Calls Maduro’s Capture a ‘Milestone in International Politics and in Latin America’ 

After US strikes and Maduro’s capture, President Donald Trump says Washington will run Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” is secured 

By Gabriel Colodro / The Media Line  

President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States carried out a large-scale military operation in Venezuela, combining sustained aerial bombardments with the capture and removal of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.  

The operation abruptly ended Maduro’s physical control of the presidency and triggered the most severe rupture in Venezuela’s power structure in decades, forcing an immediate reconfiguration of authority inside the country and raising fundamental questions about sovereignty, legitimacy, and external governance. 

Speaking hours later in an official address, President Trump framed the assault as an unprecedented display of US military power and made explicit that Washington intends to assume direct control during the immediate aftermath. “No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday,” he said, describing an “extraordinary” operation carried out overnight and into the morning at his direction.  

President Trump added that the United States is “going to run” Venezuela until “such a time that we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” signaling that the objective extended beyond removing Maduro to overseeing the country during an interim phase. 

For Venezuelan analysts, the significance of the moment lies less in the spectacle of the military operation than in what it reveals about the collapse of state authority inside Venezuela. Neida Colmenares, a Venezuelan-born political scientist and academic at the University of Santiago de Chile, said the capture of Maduro represents a historic rupture but not an automatic transition to democracy. “This is a milestone in international politics and in Latin America,” she told The Media Line. “But it does not mean Venezuela has entered a democratic phase.” 

Colmenares argued that what followed the operation was not a transfer of power but the exposure of an institutional vacuum. “What we are seeing is a collapse of civilian authority,” she said, “a vacuum that is being filled first by the military and now openly by an external actor.” In her assessment, the speed and scale of the US operation left no room for constitutional continuity, accelerating a shift away from civilian governance before any internal political process could emerge. 

At the same time, Colmenares stressed that the reaction inside Venezuela cannot be understood in binary terms of approval or rejection. Years of political repression, economic collapse, and blocked electoral exits, she said, have left large segments of society deeply exhausted and receptive to drastic outcomes. While she cautioned against interpreting this as blanket support for foreign military intervention, she noted that for many Venezuelans, the removal of Maduro was perceived less through the lens of geopolitics than as the sudden end of a system widely seen as inescapable. The absence of immediate mass resistance, she argued, reflects not enthusiasm for external control but the depth of societal fatigue and the collapse of confidence in domestic alternatives. 

She noted that for weeks there had been a widespread perception inside Venezuela that a decisive event was approaching, driven by the regime’s international isolation, economic exhaustion, and the erosion of its electoral legitimacy after elections that lacked broad recognition. “Many Venezuelans expected something to happen,” Colmenares said, “but expectation is not the same as preparation.” When the operation came, institutions proved incapable of absorbing the shock, allowing military structures to move to the forefront almost immediately. 

Trump described the raid as targeting what he called “a heavily fortified military fortress” in the heart of Caracas, comparing the operation to previous US strikes against Iranian military and nuclear targets. He said Venezuelan military capabilities were “rendered powerless.” He claimed that the lights of Caracas were shut off during the operation “due to a certain expertise” possessed by the United States. Venezuelan forces, he said, were in a “ready position” but were “completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated.” 

Further operational detail was provided by Gen. Dan Caine, who said the mission, dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, was the result of months of intelligence work and precise coordination across all branches of the US armed forces. He described the operation as “discreet” and “precise,” involving soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, intelligence agencies, and law enforcement working in unison. According to Caine, more than 150 aircraft were synchronized to arrive at exact locations at precise times after Venezuelan air defense systems had been dismantled. 

Caine said US forces reached Maduro’s compound at 1:01 a.m. ET, isolated the area and came under fire before responding with “overwhelming force.” One helicopter was hit, but all aircraft returned safely. Maduro and his wife, he said, “gave up” and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice before boarding the USS Iwo Jima at 3:29 a.m. ET. 

President Trump stressed repeatedly that no US servicemen were killed and no equipment was lost, praising the armed forces for their “breathtaking speed, power, precision, and competence.” “Both Maduro and his wife now face American justice,” he said, adding that they have been indicted in the Southern District of New York for what he described as a “campaign of deadly narco-terrorism” against the United States and its citizens. 

It was during the extended question-and-answer session that President Trump offered the clearest outline yet of how Washington intends to govern Venezuela during the interim period. He said the United States would be “running it with a group” and would designate officials to manage the transition, though he declined to name them immediately. “We’re going to make sure it’s run properly,” he said, emphasizing that the goal was not symbolic control but hands-on administration. 

President Trump said rebuilding Venezuela’s oil infrastructure would be a central pillar of the interim plan, describing existing facilities as “rotted” and dangerous. He said the reconstruction would cost billions of dollars, to be paid directly by major oil companies, which would later be reimbursed through production. “We’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be,” he said, framing energy recovery as both an economic engine and a stabilizing tool. 

Asked whether US control would involve troops on the ground, President Trump said Washington was “not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to have [them],” confirming that US forces had already operated at “a very high level” during the raid. He stressed that the United States was “there now” and “ready to go again if we have to,” arguing that withdrawal without a governing framework would guarantee collapse. “If we just left, it has zero chance of ever coming back,” he said. 

President Trump said the interim administration would include military and civilian figures and would work with Venezuelan institutions where possible, including the vice president appointed by Maduro. He said she had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was “willing to do what we think is necessary,” adding pointedly that “she really doesn’t have a choice.” 

While President Trump was outlining the US plan, Venezuelan authorities were acknowledging the depth of the regime’s collapse. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez accused Washington of launching a “brutal air attack” and admitted the government did not know Maduro’s whereabouts, demanding “immediate proof of life.” For Colmenares, that admission marked an institutional collapse rather than a communications error. 

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López soon emerged as the country’s central authority, announcing a nationwide state of external emergency and ordering the full mobilization of Venezuela’s armed forces. Although he formally invoked Maduro as commander-in-chief, the address made clear that operational control had shifted decisively to the military. 

Details published by Colombian President Gustavo Petro shed light on the scope of the assault. The reported targets included Fuerte Tiuna, La Carlota air base, Maiquetía International Airport, installations across Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira, as well as radar and communications infrastructure. Taken together, the pattern pointed to a strategy aimed at achieving total air superiority and paralyzing command-and-control systems. 

The regime’s response relied heavily on displays of force. Diosdado Cabello appeared surrounded by armed soldiers, urging calm and warning international organizations against “complicity.” At the same time, opposition leader María Corina Machado declared that “the hour of liberty has arrived,” calling for a democratic transition despite the military’s grip on power. 

International reactions highlighted the global stakes. According to Reuters, China, Russia, Iran, and allied militant groups, including Hamas, condemned the operation, while Brazil, Mexico, and Chile emphasized respect for the UN Charter. Several European governments urged restraint, while Argentina and Ecuador openly supported Maduro’s removal as an opportunity for democratic change. 

For Venezuela, the immediate future remains uncertain. The presidency has been removed, the military controls the territory, and the United States has openly declared its intention to govern the country temporarily. Whether this moment leads to a negotiated democratic transition or to a prolonged phase of militarized, externally managed rule will depend on decisions taken in the coming days by Venezuelan actors and by Washington itself.