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Posted on 01/12/2026 6:40:14 AM PST by SeekAndFind
In the immediate aftermath of the U.S. operation that led to Nicolás Maduro’s capture, much of Washington made a familiar assumption: that Donald Trump would now formally embrace the Venezuelan opposition and usher in a U.S.-backed political transition.
Within policy circles, think tanks, and cable news studios, expectations hardened quickly. The usual people anticipated recognition ceremonies, opposition figures positioned themselves for legitimacy, and commentators spoke confidently about a “handoff” phase, as if regime change naturally culminates in international endorsement and applause. That assumption reflected Washington’s worldview, not Trump’s.
[SNIP]
Trump has never equated removing an adversary with an automatic claim to ownership of what follows. For him, Maduro’s capture was not an invitation to adopt a new client regime and begin nation-building. It was the conclusion of a discrete operation.
This is where the foreign-policy establishment repeatedly miscalculates Trump. The establishment’s members assume that every use of force must be followed by political sponsorship.
Trump rejects that logic. He understands that once the United States publicly embraces an opposition leader or party in a country, it also assumes responsibility for subsequent governance failures, internal fractures, security breakdowns, and economic collapse. That is precisely the trap Washington walked into in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria, and precisely the trap Trump is determined to avoid.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
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The Venezuela opposition’s expectation that the U.S. would automatically hand it was not grounded in leverage on the ground, institutional control, or military authority. It was grounded in habit: the long-standing belief that Washington always finishes what it starts. Trump has made clear that this era is over.
Trump was also explicit in distancing himself from the Venezuelan opposition and from Maria Corina Machado personally. When asked directly about her leadership prospects following Maduro’s removal, Trump did not equivocate. “I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” he told reporters. “She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
He also noted that he had not been in contact with her, underscoring that she was not his channel, interlocutor, or preferred vehicle for what came next
America’s stupidest move in Iraq was to disband the Iraq Army and hunt its generals.
We immediately created an army of jihadis and guerrillas and angry, once-privileged officers
Instead the command structure should have been kept intact, had everyone’s pay doubled immediately, and made to drill constantly to keep them busy.
If you cut through all the MSM propaganda, stupidity and sensationalism (which is a Herculean task on most issues), it appears that Trump is the most stone-cold of realists. The goal is always negotiation of a deal that benefits the United States’ interests. But if an enemy is not negotiating, military force is a tool to get them to the table. But once the military force works, he is not going to become a George Bush neocon and turn the country into a democracy. Rather, he is going to negotiate an enforceable deal. You see it in Venezuela. You see it in Iran, Cuba and Columbia. The threats to bomb cartels in Mexico is probably meant to get Mexico to the table.
Best piece ever from American thinker. Short and to the point delivery of a good insight. More like this please.
“She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
Ka ching.
Trump to ambitious Maria Corina !
“Siempre ,piano, piano, piano !”
Let the people decide.
Wrong. It’s too late for limited goals. If the old regime is not rooted out, we’ll end up worse than if we had done nothing. Unlike Afghanistan or Iraq, it’ll be much easier because there’s clear electoral evidence that a pro-American — Machado — has the support of a majority of Venezuelans, despite Maduro’s suppression of free speech.
Wouldn't there be just as much turmoil if Machado and her people had taken over after winning the election? She isn't alone; she wasn't even the elected President of Venezuela.
I'm all for a careful transition. But we should also recognize democratic reality of Venezuelan support for Machado AND the institutional habitual thuggery of Maruro's regime in local governments now incapable of enforcing its will with violence and more desperate to save their skins.
What strikes me is the absolute need to expose the Venezuelan role in election theft, both domestically and in the US and so many other nations. Machado can do that job and, because of her Nobel Prize, the globalists would have to take it. We absolutely need that message as coupled with the increasingly obvious scope of Democrat corruption in order to force changes in election procedures in time so save the mid-term elections.
Absolutely. All we had to do in Iraq was just replace the top officer tier of the army. I never understood why we didn’t just do that.
Machado has zero support in Venezuela and Trump knows it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the charges against Maduro were dropped and Trump allows him back into the presidency as long as he agrees to play ball with us. Otherwise you’re talking long term US occupation of US forces costing huge amounts of money and dead American soldiers.
At that meeting Trump had with oil company CEO’s the head of Exxon said to Trump “look we’ve had our oil properties seized twice by Venezuela governments. We now consider that country uninvestable”. And the other oil companies have said the same thing. None of them want to invest $180 million to bring the infrastructure up to par so Trump would be forced to use American taxpayer money for that. While we might want control of Venezuela oil what we really want is that their oil trades in US dollars instead of the Chinese Yuan. It’s a desperate attempt to save the US dollar for a bit longer.
RE: Machado has zero support in Venezuela and Trump knows it
Zero support from whom? The candidate she backed, Edmundo Gonzalez ( because Maduro banned her from running) arguably WON the last election decisively ( Maduro stole it of course ).
I believe the best policy is to allow the people of Venezuela to choose their leader ASAP via a SNAP ELECTION. Machado herself or the previous winner Juan Guaidó can run if they wish. We and other countries can send observers to make sure that the election is clean and fair.
We won’t know who really has the support of the people without it.
There were observers at the last election. Just not those the US and its minions would approve of.
The US is not the arbiter of the world’s elections.
Yes, everything Trump does seems to be geared toward gaining an advantage for the US. Of course there are things he’d like to see happen, but he’s not going to expending US resources to accomplish those things unless the thing is going to tangibly benefit the US.
He runs the US like a business, whereas other presidents and politicians ran it like it’s a non-profit charity.
The failure of a business doesn’t equate to 100 years of Chinese dominance over us.
This shouldn’t be treated as such, in my opinion and the opinions of other free thinkers like Palmer Luckey. It must be known what China, Russia, et al plan on doing with the world.
I’m sorry it’s come to this. I think we need to conquer the planet. If we do not, they will.
RE: The US is not the arbiter of the world’s elections.
I included the words “And other countries” in my post.
Delaying freedom is not wise.
I think Trump takes that into calculations when he determines what’s good for the US.
As for China or Russia, I think at this point Trump has already do enough damage to them (and some of the damage is self inflicted by their own leadership) that all he has to is for America to be able to hold them off for the next 10 years, the rapid decline will then take care of things without much effort from the US.
By not recognizing Maria Corina Machado as the winner of Venezula’s 2024 presidential election, Trump admits that Maduro was the rightful winner, and thus legally Venezuela’s head of state. The 92 year old Clinton judge hearing Maduro’s criminal case will use that as justification to throw out the charges due to immunity as head of state.
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