Maduro arrest sends 'clear message' to drug cartels, allies and US rivals, retired admiral says

The apprehension of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro is expected to person a lasting interaction connected his location country, but experts archer Fox News Digital it could besides reshape however the U.S. and different neighbors get on going forward, particularly with accrued practice battling a plague of cause trafficking.

U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, successful a raid connected the statesmanlike palace successful Caracas implicit the weekend. The 2 pleaded not blameworthy to narco-terrorism and different charges successful a Manhattan courtroom Monday.

"I spot a realignment and reemphasis connected cartels," said retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, a erstwhile SEAL and subordinate of erstwhile President George W. Bush's National Security Council.

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Nicolas Maduro is seen successful handcuffs aft landing astatine a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavy equipped national agents arsenic they marque their mode into an armored car en way to a national courthouse successful Manhattan connected Jan. 5, 2026 successful New York City. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images)

The Trump administration's decisive takedown of a suspected narco-terrorist and illegitimate person shows a marked alteration successful U.S. overseas argumentation posture years aft erstwhile President Barack Obama's ineffectual "red lines" successful Syria, helium told Fox News Digital.

"We said a reddish enactment 3 times, if you bash chemicals, we're going to bash this," helium said. "Every clip they raced past those reddish lines and we followed done with nary actions."

Now, helium said, President Donald Trump has shown he's consenting to enactment successful bid to enforce his priorities.

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Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen successful handcuffs aft landing astatine a Manhattan helipad, en way to a national courthouse successful Manhattan connected Jan. 5, 2026 successful New York City. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

"If you're going to travel present and messiness successful our backyards, we're going to code that," Harward said. "That's astir apt 1 of the astir captious components of this Venezuelan operation. He acceptable the policy, helium reinforced it with his words, and past they acted."

The connection isn't conscionable to governments successful the region, it's besides to cause cartels and different traffickers, Harward said.

"Don't hide this started retired taking retired the cause boats, going aft the proviso broadside of drugs, not conscionable for the harm it had to our radical successful our country, but besides for the power they've had successful these countries," Harward told Fox News Digital.

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Video shows a kinetic onslaught connected a narco-terror vas successful planetary waters from Wednesday, Dec. 31. (U.S. Southern Command via X)

He predicted that different countries whitethorn summation their practice with U.S. efforts to seizure cause smugglers earlier they get connected American soil.

"We've been successful interdicting drugs coming not conscionable retired of Venezuela, but the remainder of South America astatine oversea for years, possibly there's gonna beryllium person interdiction monitoring wrong those countries, practice wherever we're watching the ports," Harward said.

Trump's crackdown connected narcotics trafficking has besides coincided with a renewed absorption connected borderline security, thing that was notably lax during astir of erstwhile President Joe Biden's azygous term.

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Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gestures adjacent to his woman Cilia Flores arsenic they permission the Capitolio, location of the National Assembly, aft taking the oath during the statesmanlike inauguration successful Caracas connected Jan. 10, 2025. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

Provisional information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that cause overdose deaths spiked nether the Biden medication earlier dropping toward levels seen during Trump's archetypal term.

"The autumn begins astatine the extremity of the Biden administration, but the question is, was it successful anticipation of a pugnacious connected transgression president coming in?" said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct transgression justness prof astatine Penn State Lehigh Valley. "Securing the borders has a batch to bash with the driblet arsenic well, little accidental for cause dealers and their mules to bring drugs into the country."

Military strikes connected alleged cause trafficking boats successful the Caribbean whitethorn besides service arsenic a deterrent, helium added.

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Homeless radical amid struggles with fentanyl problems successful San Francisco, California, United States connected May 16, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"Deterrence matters successful transgression justness policy," Giacalone said.

Trump invoked the Monroe Doctrine, a 19th-century argumentation of American power implicit the Western Hemisphere, arsenic portion of his administration's renewed absorption connected determination neighbors, adjacent calling it the "Don-roe" doctrine successful caller remarks.

Outside the cause trade, the Venezuela cognition has greater planetary ramifications, Harward added, particularly for countries allied with U.S. rivals Russia, China and Iran oregon countries trying to play some sides.

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Amid reports of unrest and instability successful Iran and Trump's vocal backing of anti-government protesters, the theocracy could autumn astatine immoderate constituent this year, Harward said.

"We [would] truly person altered the satellite order, not conscionable for those regions, but for those proxies for Russia and China — the fewer allies they had successful the satellite are being decimated," helium said. "And astatine the aforesaid time, it sends a wide connection to those countries that are connected the fence, trying to support a ft successful some camps."