adminDonald Trump just reminded the world that America still has teeth, and conservatives should cheer a president willing to protect our homeland and our interests abroad. Dana Perino summed it up plainly on Fox: Trump “means business” — a line that should comfort every hard-working American tired of years of hollow warnings and weak diplomacy.
In the early hours of January 3, U.S. forces carried out a surgical operation that resulted in Nicolás Maduro being captured and sent to the United States, ending years of impunity for a regime that turned Venezuela into a narco-state. The operation, reported widely as a decisive military and law-enforcement action, was the kind of bold move this country sorely needed to stop drug cartels and protect American lives.
Maduro and his wife were arraigned in federal court in New York on January 5 and pleaded not guilty to a slate of narco-terrorism and cocaine importation charges, beginning the legal process that should hold them accountable for exporting violence to our cities. The American justice system will now have the chance to show the world that no dictator is above the law when they traffic poison into our communities.
Global institutions are already reacting to the arrest in ways that prove President Trump’s strategy sent a powerful message — Switzerland has frozen assets tied to Maduro and his associates, and governments across the hemisphere are scrambling to recalibrate. Those who peddle excuses for murderous regimes will find that the age of permissive internationalism is over and that consequences follow criminal behavior.
Conservatives should be clear-eyed: this was not a reckless gamble but a restoration of American strength and resolve, backed up by the Justice Department and our military professionals who executed a difficult mission. Commentators from across the conservative spectrum have praised the move as law enforcement and national security working in tandem to protect the American people.
Make no mistake, Democrats and the left will howl about process and optics while the rest of the country counts the bodies of children saved from drugs and the communities spared violence. President Trump’s blunt promise to use American power responsibly sends a deterrent to cartels and rogue regimes: violate our laws and you will face American justice.
This moment must not be squandered. Americans who voted for strength and for borders deserve a follow-through: secure our southern border, clamp down on drug pipelines, and use the legal system to see justice served. If our leaders keep prioritizing the safety and prosperity of ordinary citizens, then this operation will be remembered as the turning point when America chose to stand up again for law, order, and the rule of law.
