President Donald J. Trump addressed the nation Saturday morning from the steps of Mar-a-Lago, delivering a thunderous statement just hours after U.S. special operations forces executed a “decisive and lawful military action” to seize Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Speaking in front of American flags and flanked by top military brass, Trump hailed the operation as “a new day for justice, liberty, and the Western Hemisphere.”
“Maduro is a thug, a narco-terrorist, and a murderer who has brought poison to our shores for far too long,” Trump said. “Today, he was removed from power. And let me be clear: this isn’t regime change—it’s justice served.”
The mission—codenamed Operation Condor Strike—was launched in the early hours of Saturday morning, targeting Maduro’s heavily fortified presidential compound in Caracas. Pentagon sources say the operation involved Navy SEALs and unmanned drones, coordinated with regional intelligence assets.
Shortly after the address, Trump posted a photo to Truth Social showing a handcuffed Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima, where he and his wife are currently being held en route to a secure location.
Maduro has been under federal indictment in the U.S. since 2020 for conspiracy to traffic cocaine and arm terror-linked militias. Trump, both in 2020 and again during his 2024 campaign, vowed to “end narco-communism at our doorstep.”
The Venezuelan regime has been accused of flooding the U.S. with fentanyl and other narcotics through proxy gangs and cartel pipelines. The DEA believes Maduro’s inner circle—known as the “Cartel of the Suns”—used state resources to partner with Hezbollah-aligned traffickers and Mexican cartels.
“Maduro has American blood on his hands,” Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. “This operation was not just justified—it was overdue.”
Predictably, the response from the left was swift—and bitter.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., accused the Trump administration of carrying out the strike to distract from “Epstein revelations” and rising healthcare costs.
“It’s not about drugs,” AOC posted on X. “If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the biggest narco traffickers in the world last year.”
She was referring to Trump’s 2025 pardon of ex-Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández—convicted in a New York court of drug conspiracy. Progressive critics have used the pardon to claim Trump’s Venezuela policy is “oil-motivated regime change.”
Trump dismissed the criticism outright in his address.
“The radical left is in meltdown because we’ve taken out one of their favorite anti-American tyrants,” Trump said. “They’re more concerned about defending criminals than protecting our citizens.”
Trump confirmed that Maduro and Flores would be transferred to Guantanamo Bay “within days,” pending a public tribunal for crimes against the American people.
“We believe in trials, but not show trials. The world will see the evidence, the bloodshed, the betrayals,” Trump added. “America will lead again.”
Congressional Republicans are already drafting resolutions of support, with hearings scheduled once lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next week.
“The days of coddling dictators are over,” Johnson concluded. “President Trump kept his promise: America is strong again.”
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Of course AOC is upset. Maduro and his wife are good solid members of the progressive party’s family.
Thank you Mr. President for your leadership!!
We love you!!
Free Venezuela from the tyranny of Maduro!!
About time we have a President with the courage to do what is best for America.