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Washington needs to stop pretending weakness is a strategy, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio made that point plain as he prepared to lay out the Trump administration’s Venezuela plan to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Rubio warned that the United States is prepared to use force to stabilize Venezuela if diplomatic and economic pressure fail, a necessary stance while we work to eject Russian, Chinese and Iranian influence from America’s backyard. Hardworking Americans expect their leaders to defend national security, not shrug and hand the hemisphere over to adversaries.
The administration’s decisive raid that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife — branded Operation Absolute Resolve by insiders — showed that when Washington acts with resolve, results follow. Officials described the operation as a precise law-enforcement action rather than an open invasion, and secrecy was essential to prevent leaks that could have risked lives and mission success. Conservatives should be proud that the U.S. used its capabilities to hold a tyrant accountable instead of offering empty words and sanctions that never bite.
Of course the radical left and some establishment critics howl about overreach, while a feckless segment of Congress pretends to be the arbiter of every overseas move. The House recently blocked efforts to constrain the president’s ability to respond to threats in Venezuela, a vote that exposed Democrats’ selective outrage and exposed rifts even within the GOP over how to balance oversight with national security. America cannot be paralyzed by performative posturing while hostile powers deepen their foothold in the Americas.
Make no mistake: pushing back against Russian and Chinese proxies in Latin America is not adventurism, it is common-sense geopolitics. The administration’s tactics — from targeted strikes on drug-smuggling operations to seizing sanctioned tankers — are aimed at choking off the cash and capability that sustain hostile regimes and cartels that directly threaten U.S. streets. For decades the left’s business-as-usual approach allowed dictators and kleptocrats to fester; today’s enforcement-first posture restores deterrence and sends a clear message.
Rubio’s blunt line — “We are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail” — is not warmongering, it’s stewardship of American safety and interests. When words are not enough, credible force is the insurance policy that protects our citizens from spilled chaos and narco-terrorists, and that credibility prevents more wars by deterring bad actors. Patriots should applaud a policy that seeks cooperation but keeps every option on the table in defense of the republic.
Yes, Congress should be kept informed, and legitimate questions about war powers deserve answers, but oversight cannot become a cudgel used to hamstring swift action when American lives and energy security are at stake. Democrats who once cheered for sanctions and “human rights” rhetoric now feign horror when leadership actually enforces consequences. If the choice is between timid finger-wagging and the restoration of order and freedom in Venezuela, conservatives choose strength every time.
This moment is a test of American resolve — and of whether the United States will lead or bow to foreign influence. To every patriot out there, know this: defending liberty and the safety of our homeland is not partisan, it is duty. Stand with leaders who act, demand transparency without neutering authority, and insist that America remain the last, best guardian of freedom in the Western Hemisphere.
