Fox News reports that our armed forces carried out a “large-scale strike” in Venezuela early Saturday morning and took Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife into custody. President Trump relate on Truth Social that the operation was successful and Maduro and his wife were “captured and flown out of the country.” Trump said the operation was conducted with U.S. law enforcement and added that a news conference will take place at Mar-a-Lago at 11 a.m. on Saturday. It appears that congratulations are in order.
Our old friend Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau responded to Trump’s announcement on X, describing it as a “new dawn for Venezuela. The tyrant is gone. He will now — finally — face justice for his crimes.” In 2020, serving as Untied States Ambassador to Mexico. Secretary Landau wrote us about the trashing of history in a message I posted here. He is a serious man.
A new dawn for Venezuela! 🙏 The tyrant is gone. He will now—finally—face justice for his crimes. 🇺🇸🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/oNhW6b9soh
— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) January 3, 2026
Maduro must be destined for small piece of real estate in Miami or Guantanamo. I’m not sure about Mrs. Maduro. Don’t cry for her, Venezuela. I trust we have an after-action plan for Venezuela.
In any event, Mark Penn can now check off the first item on his list of 2026 predictions. Just fyi, the second on his list is “Iran will see some kind of regime change.” Iran will be unhappy about the cracking of Caracas: “Venezuela is a true friend and ally of the Islamic Republic,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Maduro in a December 9 phone call. Not anymore. Pezeshkian did not anticipate a new dawn in Venezuela when he also vowed, “Iran supports this country under any circumstances.”
