Maduro’s extraction

History repeated itself last week – both as a farce and as a tragedy.

From the 7th Century Qin Dynasty through the Han Dynasty and culminating in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Chinese built the Great Wall. Their goal was to ward off enemies. And to ensure that the Great Wall served its purpose, fearsome guards, armed to the hilt, were, for good measure, posted to keep watch. Alas, the Chinese, in spite of the Great Wall, came to grief. Reason? Their clever enemies bribed the guards and wreaked havoc on the country. A similar scenario played itself out in Caracas, Venezuela, last week. President Nicolas Maduro had put the following arsenal in “key air defence positions”: S-300VM long-range surface-to-air missile systems, Buk-M2ESA-17 Grizzly medium-range surface-to-air missile systems, American F-16 Jets and Russian SU-30 Fighter Jets.

By his own crowing, he had stationed at least 5,000 Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles. Additionally, Maduro was guarded by top-notch Venezuelan and Cuban guards. He had recourse to a number of safe houses and his movements were known only to a trusted few.

In spite of this arsenal and fortifications, a flummoxed Maduro was extracted like a helpless chicken from the comfort of his bedroom by American Special Forces. In a script that only William Shakespeare could have authored for its supreme irony and betrayal, American intelligence had for months, not only had Maduro in its sights, it had compromised some of his most loyal and trusted guards. While Maduro carried on with bravura and false sense of confidence, his country, once touted as “among South America’s wealthiest”, had gone to the dogs.

Mismanagement of the economy, disputed elections and corruption have reduced Venezuela, once awash with petro-dollars, into a basket case. Opposition candidates, arising from presidential elections conducted in 2013, 2018, and 2024 have either been arrested or gone into exile.

Decades-long sanctions imposed by the United States and seizure of Venezuela’s assets overseas are said to have cost the country between $20-$30 billion. The faltering economy has occasioned a refugee crisis. As at 2025, not less than 9.7 million Venezuelans, out of a population of 31.3 million, have fled the country. An economic meltdown began on the watch of President Maduro. It resulted in 82 per cent of Venezuelans living in poverty and 53 per cent others in extreme poverty. Those in the latter category are said to be unable buy basic foodstuffs. It was the poverty and despair that American intelligence exploited. Plus, of course, while majority of Venezuelans lived in abject poverty, the leadership lived in opulence. His guards and loyalists thus suffered little or no qualms in betraying him.

And contrary to the arsenal the Americans claimed they arrayed against Venezuela, it was a huge distraction designed to camouflage a simple extraction which was flawlessly executed, all thanks to superb intelligence and the connivance of Venezuelan quislings.

Apart from the fact that American intelligence took advantage of the poverty around Maduro, the extraction is a replication of the capture of Panama’s Manuel Antonio Noriega by American forces in 1989. Noriega, who had long-standing ties with American intelligence, was also accused of drug trafficking, prior to his extraction.

In spite of the failings of the Maduro government, his extraction was a violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty. It is also a throw-back to the use of brute force that characterised the 19th Century and the misadventures of the CIA in the 20th Century. Governments that did not dance to the dictates of Washington or demonstrated some measure of spine were uprooted during the Cold War era. This prompted President Dwight Eisenhower to remark ruefully that the CIA had bequeathed “a legacy of ashes” in its first fifty years.

Additionally, the extraction of Maduro is a violation of a rules- governing international system. It will certainly give impetus to leaders like Vladimir Putin who has been unleashing death and mayhem on Ukraine. It will also incentivize China which is bent on gobbling up Taiwan.

Flush with power, following Maduro’s abduction, President Donald Trump has served such countries as Colombia, Mexico, Cuba and Iran of either attacks or regime changes.

But more than engendering regime change and fighting drug trafficking, the agenda is for America to take over Venezuela’s oil reserves, reputed to be the largest in the world.

In an interview with the NEW YORK TIMES on Wednesday January 7, 2026, President Trump repeated his refrain that the United States would be running Venezuela and that:”We will rebuild it in a very profitable way. We’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela which they desperately need”.

This means America will not only “own” Venezuela, it will be there for the long haul. The trouble is that America once tried to “own” Iraq after it gave the world the impression that it harboured Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). There were consequences. America should brace itself for the consequences that will follow “owning” Venezuela.

Dazang is a former director at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

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