Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive

Donald Trump has become the most consequential — and unpredictable — American president since Teddy Roosevelt. He’s a man on a mission to restore American prominence on the world stage.

Sherman Frederick

Last Saturday, January 3, the U.S. military invaded Caracas and captured the illegitimate leader of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, whisking him to New York, where he was arraigned on narcoterrorism charges.

Did you have that on your 2026 bingo card? I certainly didn’t. But, I’m glad for it.

Some will call this justice, others will call it regime change. Reaction to the move will fall along the usual lines. China and Russia hate it. Democrats in America, too. Maybe even some Republicans.

Nevada’s Sen. Jacky Rosen, who likes to bill herself as “bipartisan,” but let’s face it, she’s a cookie-cutter politician out of central Democrat casting, obediently blasted the move:

“While Nicolas Maduro was an illegitimate and brutal dictator – and his ouster will be greeted with celebration by Venezuelans who were forced to endure horrific conditions under his regime – the Constitution is clear: only Congress has the power to declare war and authorize the use of military force in other nations, especially when there is no imminent threat to U.S. national security that requires immediate presidential action. This illegal regime change operation won’t make our country safer and risks destabilizing the region, dragging us into additional military conflicts, and increasing the amount of immigrants seeking refuge at our border.”

It’s the blah-blah-blah response so far for Democrats who now must root for chaos in Caracas if they have any chance of stopping the Trump “Teddy Roosevelt” juggernaut from carrying the day in the upcoming U.S. elections this fall.

The chances of that are small for three reasons: 

  1. Given the flawless execution of the American military operation, it is likely that the Trump Administration has an equally competent plan for Venezuela post Nicolás Maduro. This isn’t the bumbling Biden Administration that failed to think through the most realistic contingencies for the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
  2. The lack of response from the Venezuelan military suggests enough government structure to carry on with Maduro out of the picture. 
  3. Significant numbers of Venezuelans celebrated the exit of Maduro. A good sign that chaos will not ensue.

Obviously, we’re only one week into this story. Anything can happen.

But you can bet Trump will be channelling the resolve of Teddy Roosevelt and working hard with the current powers that be to make life good for average Venezuelans in the short term and great in the long term. 

(Sherman R. Frederick is a longtime Nevada journalist and a member of the Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame. You can read more from him at shermanfrederick.substack.com.)