Some lines shouldn’t be crossed...

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s leadership has been surrounded by allegations of electoral fraud, political persecution, and gross economic mismanagement since the beginning. 

US Military, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arrested last weekend in his own country and flown to the United States to face federal criminal charges including narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons charges.

The military operation which took place early Saturday in Caracas involved a large-scale military strike that overwhelmed Venezuelan defenses and led to Maduro’s capture and removal from power, which Trump announced on social media. U.S. officials have described the mission as part of a law-enforcement effort, however critics at home and abroad have fiercely rejected that characterization including Brazil, Spain, China, Russia, and Iran so far.

The high-profile military action in Venezuela comes after Trump’s decision to pardon or release other individuals convicted of drug offences or accused of cartel ties, among them, the former president of Honduras.

Maduro appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to a series of charges, including alleged drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism offenses. He denied all wrongdoing and has insisted that he is Venezuela’s legitimate president, describing his capture as unlawful.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a U.S representative who thinks there might be another agenda at play, however.

“It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month. It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.”

The strikes come on the heels of recent U.S. military buildup with the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and multiple warships stationed in the Caribbean. Trump also seized 2 oil tankers from Venezuela during the month of December and says the U.S. will keep oil seized in recent interdictions near Venezuela and may place the crude into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The fallout from this extraordinary event continues to unfold, with global political repercussions and serious debate over the legality and impact of what many world leaders are calling a kidnapping of a sitting head of state, legitimate or not.

Some leaders, such as Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney have voiced their support for this operation saying, “One of the first actions taken by Canada’s new government in March 2025 was to impose additional sanctions on Nicolás Maduro’s brutally oppressive and criminal regime – unequivocally condemning his grave breaches of international peace and security, gross and systematic human rights violations, and corruption. Canada has not recognized the illegitimate regime of Maduro since it stole the 2018 election. The Canadian government therefore welcomes the opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for the Venezuelan people.”

While other leaders from around the globe have openly condemned Trumps choice to remove the Venezuelan President.

“Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states is a non-negotiable principle. From Ukraine to Gaza, including Venezuela,” posted Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on his X. “Spain did not recognize the Maduro regime. But neither will it recognize an intervention that violates international law and pushes the region toward a horizon of uncertainty and belligerence.”

The Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva openly voiced his anger regarding the ‘capture’ of Maduro on X, saying “The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president have crossed an unacceptable line. These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela's sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community.”

With Maduro removed from power, attention now turns to what follows. For Venezuela and the international community alike, the next steps remain uncertain, and for now, the world waits.