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On Jan. 3, United States Special Forces conducted an extrajudicial operation in Caracas, capturing Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife. What followed was a mixture of relief, celebration, criticism and condemnation.

Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan population in the U.S., saw protests and parties alike. While the joy and relief of many Venezuelans celebrating Maduro’s arrest is rooted in a legacy of suffering under the regime, it’s imperative the Latin American consciousness doesn’t succumb to a definitive ecstasy.

The extrajudicial force by which the U.S. captured Maduro doesn’t mean liberation for the people of Venezuela. Rather, it’s the continuation of more than a century of U.S. intervention in Latin America meant to exploit, coerce and control. It’s the reinforcement of an imperialist leash on the Western Hemisphere, tightly wound around the fist of a volatile U.S.

Since early September, Trump has latched onto a variety of explanations to justify the escalation of U.S. military force in Caribbean and South American waters. According to a PBS report, there have been 35 known strikes against what the administration has alleged to be “narcoterrorists” funneling fentanyl and other illegal narcotics into the US by boat. One hundred and fifteen people have been killed in this process.

Notably, Venezuela is completely absent from the global equation of fentanyl production and distribution. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment instead names Mexico as the main producer of the drug, with China and India as primary suppliers for the chemicals used to produce it. The entry of cocaine into the U.S. has been another justification used for these illegal attacks. And yet, only 5% of Colombian cocaine is estimated to

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