Cartel Wars

On January 3, 2026, U.S. armed forces and law enforcement extracted Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela. I join President Trump in praising the men and women who led “Operation Absolute Resolve” and brought Maduro back to the United States to stand trial—all without the loss of American life.

Maduro is an indicted narco-terrorist who poisoned over 100,000 Americans. His “rap” sheet also includes involvement with transnational criminal organizations and befriending our foreign enemies like China, Iran, and Russia.

President Trump wants to fight this corruption, as do I. Operation Absolute Resolve made real progress on that front. Now people are asking, “How do we move forward?” My bill, the Americas Act, gives us that path forward.

The U.S. needs a clear plan for the Western Hemisphere that supports U.S. manufacturing, ends corruption, and counters foreign powers trying to muscle their way into our neighborhood. Look at Venezuela. Under Maduro, China was moving in fast, locking in influence while the country fell apart. If we don’t get a unified strategy together, we risk letting the Chinese Communist Party shape the future of our hemisphere instead of us.

The people who have a problem with what happened in Venezuela cannot even begin to understand anything this woman is saying. They don’t know what it’s like to not have a shower. In the U.S., something like Walmart is often frequented by lower-income individuals. But to this woman, she couldn’t even believe such a selection of food existed.

Many of her friends just disappeared. Many of her loved ones were forced to eat trash. The people were living in fear. This is not something the left can even begin to comprehend. They don’t even care, as they would rather these people suffer than give Trump a win.

“Democrats, we all agree he was a terrible person, and the kinds of chaos and misery he brought to Venezuela. And he’s gone. Why can’t we just say that’s a good thing?” Fetterman said, referring to Maduro in a radio interview with John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby of the Cats & Cosby Show.

Jasmine Crockett appeared on The View. Maybe she thought she would sound smart and win over Trump supporters in Texas. Maybe she didn’t. Nonetheless, she did none of that, and let’s just say she continues to decrease her chances of winning a seat in the Senate by the second.

According to Crockett, “everything that this administration does is illegal.” But if that were true, why is it not true? If she is going to talk about crimes, she should do her homework first.

What does she even mean when she claims Trump talked to “oil folks”? That makes zero sense, and the fact that she thinks he needs permission from people like her is deeply unserious.

She knows nothing about Venezuela.

It’s also changing so quickly that it’s hard to keep up with everything.

That said, I’m seeing a lot of misinformation, speculation, confusion, and biased reporting out there — surprise, surprise — and I want to set the record straight on what’s happening in Venezuela right this minute. Everything I’m going to say comes from our State Department, credible human rights groups, sources on the ground, and people with whom I’ve connected who are from that country.  None of them are anonymous.

Venezuela is still dealing with the fallout from US strikes that hit the coastal town of Catia La Mar on January 3. Residents say the attacks struck a civilian apartment building and nearby port areas during the US operation targeting President Nicolás Maduro. Fires broke out, power was cut in parts of the town and homes were left badly damaged near La Guaira.

Accounts of the human toll vary. Venezuelan authorities confirmed at least one civilian death and several serious injuries at the apartment site, while other sources cited much higher casualty figures across multiple locations. The United States said its forces suffered only minor injuries. No final civilian death toll has been confirmed.