And that CRIK back story was the presence of agents/weapons from our adversaries, China, Russia, Iran, and (North) Korea. Cuban soldiers were also present and reports are at least 32 Cubans died. Liberal Democrats can cry and scream all they want but President Donald Trump was right, once again, taking action against the illegitimate Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro when he did. There were many reasons to celebrate victory besides bringing a criminal to justice. This includes delivering the Venezuelan population from a communist dictatorship in control for 27 years.
These three reasons are most valued;
- A real world field test of our offensive and defensive military equipment against those of our adversaries.
- Destroying the military complex marketplace of our adversaries.
- Showing the world the United States of America is not a country to be challenged as our military machine is the best in the world both intellectually and physically.
So while “Operation Absolute Resolve” was a U.S. Military mission to Venezuela to capture the illegitimate president Nicolás Maduro as a drug king pin to arrest him on charges related to this distribution of drugs to the U.S.A., it also served as an outstanding military training exercise with real-world experience and test of our latest military technology.
WIN – WIN – WIN!
While there are many internet content creators with new content discussing their takes on what went down in the Maduro arrest raid in Venezuela, we found the video at the top of this article to be fairly well done.
About the only issue we had with this video was it’s title, which didn’t give enough credit to all the U.S. Military branches and government offices involved. Google AI offered this information:
“U.S. Navy: Provided naval assets, including the USS Iwo Jima for extraction, and contributed aircraft like F/A-18s and E-2 Hawkeyes, along with support ships.
U.S. Air Force: Deployed numerous aircraft, including F-22s, B-1 bombers, and electronic warfare planes (EA-18s).
U.S. Marine Corps: Contributed fighter jets (F-35s, F/A-18s) and support aircraft, as well as personnel.
U.S. Army: The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers) flew the helicopters (Chinooks, Black Hawks) that transported the raid force.
U.S. Cyber Command & Space Command: Played crucial roles in disabling Venezuelan defenses and communications, creating darkness over Caracas.
FBI & DEA: Specialized agents from these agencies were part of the mission, blurring the lines between military and law enforcement.”
Missing from the information from Google AI was the following:
CIA: collects, analyzes, and disseminates foreign intelligence to safeguard U.S. national security, providing vital information to the President and policymakers on global developments, threats, and economic/political trends.
Many Americans had no idea how heavily Maduro had relied on weapons from other countries. While many of us knew these countries were hungry for Venezuelan oil for their energy market, we did not know they were trading oil for state-of-the art weaponry from these other adversary countries.
Google AI offers the following synopsis on each country:
“China provided Venezuela under Maduro with massive loans, technology, arms, and infrastructure investment (like railways, power plants) in exchange for oil, creating an economic lifeline and strategic partnership despite U.S. sanctions, while also supplying surveillance tech and equipment to bolster his regime’s control. Key sales included artillery, aircraft, missiles, and telecom systems from companies like Huawei and ZTE.
Russia has historically provided the Maduro administration with billions of dollars in military hardware, energy infrastructure support, and advanced surveillance technology to maintain domestic control. According to reports following the recent January 2026 ousting of Nicolás Maduro, Russia’s total sales and financial support to the regime have exceeded $20 billion over the past two decades.
Iran has sold Venezuela crucial oil products, refinery help, and military technology (like drones) in exchange for gold, crude oil, and economic access, bypassing U.S. sanctions through a barter system and long-term cooperation pacts. Key sales include gasoline, diluents for refining, repair parts, technicians, and military hardware, while Venezuela provides gold and heavy crude, supporting both sanctioned nations’ economies
While North Korea and Venezuela have diplomatic ties, recent public reports focus more on their cooperation in military/defense sectors, with NK providing missile technology, defense expertise, and potentially arms/components to Maduro’s government, often linked to sanctions evasion and support against U.S. pressure, though specific purchased items by Maduro aren’t always detailed beyond these military/security deals.”
CONCLUSION:
I have an interesting personal story and observation to conclude this article with.
While I never served in the U.S. Military myself, our family did have 4 of ou5 children serve in the Air Force, Army, and Navy. As a voc/tech educator I provided several of my graduates to the defense of our nation and some of those did jobs with top secret security clearance, both civilian and military. I had one student go to a missile lab, one to a computer chip company, one to the Navy as a medical tech., and two as Marines do CAD drawing up battle plans for Grenada (1983) and Panama (1989). Those are just the ones I am aware of. Twice I had the FBI visit me at my home to background check two of my recent graduates.
President Trump’s invasion of Venezuela and Maduro inviting Trump to come get him reminded me of a parallel time in history of President George H.W. Bush when he ousted the de facto dictator of Panama Manuel Noriega in a U.S. invasion named “Operation Just Cause” in 1989.
“Before Maduro’s capture, there was Noriega: How the two operations compare” – ABC News
The funniest think I noticed is both the dates and similar “Play Stupid Games/Win Stupid Prizes” parallels between these two bad apples.
- Both waved around machetes/swords taunting our U.S. Presidents to come and get them.
- Both were arrested and taken down with their wives January 3, 1980/2026.
- Both narco-dictators wound up making unexpected trips to the U.S. they did not see coming where they were immediately charged with their crimes.
Noriega, con un machete en mano, amenazó a los EE.UU. Ante su amenaza, los EE.UU. intervinieron en Panamá 💨🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/NJyQYx36g7
— Jhonf Fonseca (@Jhonffonseca) November 27, 2025
And for all the liberals on the left who don’t like President Trump’s name-calling of others, in 1980 Manuel Noriega was called “Pineapple Face” because of his pock-marked face from acne. The point being, Donald Trump did not start this practice.
Finally, writing this story, I am reminded of an old funny personal story relative to my connection to the defense industry and military of our great nation.
One time I was invited to a friend’s house warming party in 1990 just before Operation “Desert Shield”. The U.S. was going to rescue Kuwait from an Iraqi take over with a U.S. Military invasion. At one point one of the engineers at the party in the defense industry drinking too much yelled out, “COOL! Now we get to find out if all of this sh*t we have been making is going to work!”
Most of the other guests, also with top secret security clearances, turned on him to shoosh him as one yell back at him, “Would you shut, the hell, up?!”
But it goes to the heart of the story above. Sometimes you really don’t know if something is going to work until you try it out.
I am sure President Trump, his Joint Chiefs, and their related military contractors are very satisfied today! They should be. Well done, all of you!
© 2026 by Mark S. Schwendau
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Thinking Conservative.
