The brilliantly executed U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Maduro immediately triggered a militant optimism within Anglo-globalist circles:
“Operation Absolute Resolve, the US government’s audacious seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, is a stark reminder of the extraordinary, unique military power available to President Trump when he chooses to use it. Every dictator, despot and rogue regime will have taken note: no tyrant is beyond reach if the US decides to act… So what does this mean? The hope must be that President Trump now uses this leverage to compel Moscow to accept a genuine peace in Ukraine”[1].
“By overthrowing Maduro, President Donald Trump dealt a humiliating blow to Vladimir Putin. A vital show of strength as Trump tries to strong-arm the Russian dictator into ending the Ukraine War”[2].
The crescendo of these threats and triumphalist declarations was the announcement, albeit framed as a denial, of the obvious and now unavoidable consequence of Operation Absolute Resolve:
“Does Donald Trump’s Venezuelan move violate international law and the rules-based order? In using military force to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, has the US President made it easier for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to intervene forcefully in the domestic affairs of Taiwan and even decapitate its leadership? The answer to the first question is likely yes. But on the second issue, dictators such as Xi and Vladimir Putin will be feeling far more uncomfortable after last weekend”[3].
Exactly! In the wake of Absolute Resolve, Trump will have no grounds to oppose Moscow’s forceful takeover of Odesa and Beijing’s establishment of control over Taiwan.
He has demolished the very logic for such an objection, and will be left without the political capital to mount one.
1 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/04/us-military-capability-dictators-delta-force-sas-trump/#comment
“No dictator in the world can sleep safely any longer” (Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, The Telegraph, 04 January 2026);
2 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/05/venezuela-russian-air-defence-putin-blow-trump-maduro/
“Venezuela is far from Russia. But the echoes of the Caracas snatch are ringing around the Kremlin” (Samuel Ramani, The Telegraph, 05 January 2026);
3 https://www.hudson.org/defense-strategy/donald-trump-puts-dictators-notice-venezuela-power-play-john-lee
“Donald Trump Puts Dictators on Notice with Venezuela Power Play” (John Lee, Jan 6, 2026, Hudson Institute).