What a beautiful tab, comin' into my room ...
And PSA for everyone saying this was "illegal":
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 3, 2026
Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don't get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.
Ed: We established that precedent in Panama 37 years ago. And speaking of that precedent ...
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Jonathan Turley: Trump does not need congressional approval for this type of operation. Presidents, including Democratic presidents, have launched lethal attacks regularly against individuals. President Barack Obama killed an American citizen under this “kill list” policy. If Obama can vaporize an American citizen without even a criminal charge, Trump can capture a foreign citizen with a pending criminal indictment without prior congressional approval.
Ordinarily, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and other international agreements require the United States to notify the embassy of a foreign national arrested and held in the United States. Notice seems a tad superfluous in this case.
In his appeal, Noriega argued that his arrest violated international law under the head-of-state immunity doctrine. The district court rejected Noriega’s head-of-state immunity claim because the United States government never recognized Noriega as Panama’s legitimate ruler — an argument that will be made in the Maduro prosecution.
The United States for the Eleventh Circuit also rejected the immunity claim.
Ed: As I mentioned earlier, the precedent Obama established in Libya is actually stronger than the one he set with Anwar al-Awlaki (and son). Obama used US military forces for a sustained assault on Moammar Qaddafi's regime in 2011 with the express purpose of deposing him, along with the EU. Obama never bothered to report this operation to Congress at all, not even after it ended. Democrats defended that under the Samanatha Power-created doctrine of "responsibility to protect," a bitterly ironic term considering the catastrophic outcome in Libya.
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Maduro: "Come for me, I am waiting for you... coward!"
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) January 3, 2026
Trump: pic.twitter.com/kPOvhQVqC1
Ed: I swear, this is almost a replay of Panama and Noriega. Remember when "the Pineapple" banged his machete on a podium and dared the US to come after him? That worked out just as well.
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John Hinderaker at Power Line: As AG Bondi says, Maduro was indicted several years ago in the Southern District of New York. I don’t know what rules govern venue in a case of this kind, nor do I know whether it is feasible to bring a new set of charges in a different jurisdiction.
But I would warn the administration that there is little chance of convicting Maduro in the Southern District of New York, i.e., New York City. Democratic Party jurors would vote to acquit Communism, mass murder, drug trafficking and starving children 100% of the time, simply to spite Donald Trump. Maybe DOJ could get a conviction in Miami, but in New York or, say, Washington D.C.? Highly unlikely, with the Democratic Party on the other side.
Ed: I am more optimistic than John on this score. It might have been easier to prosecute this in Florida, but the DoJ has a strong case in any venue. Maduro isn't a Democrat politician, after all. Still, I'd be more comfortable if the trial took place in Tallahassee than in lower Manhattan.
===
Rough translation of Maria Corina's message:
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) January 3, 2026
Venezuelans, The HOUR OF LIBERTY has arrived!
As of today, Nicolás Maduro faces international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations. Faced with his refusal to… https://t.co/bzOKZ4KLyN
Faced with his refusal to accept a negotiated exit, the government of the United States has fulfilled its promise to uphold the law.
The time has come for Popular Sovereignty and National Sovereignty to rule in our country. We are going to establish order, free political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home.
We have fought for years, we have given everything, and it has been worth it. What had to happen is happening.
This is the hour of the citizens. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on July 28. Those of us who elected Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate President of Venezuela, who must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as Commander in Chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and soldiers who comprise it.
Ed: Be sure to read it all. Let's hope that this happens as peacefully as possible, and that the people of Venezuela can finally be free again.
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The 10 Best Things About Trump’s Venezuela Victory:
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) January 3, 2026
10. America’s enemies are terrified
9. Democrats went from siding with Somali fraudsters early in the week to communist narco terrorists who ignored democracy by the weekend
8. Libertarians are upset
7. Unleashing…
Ed: #4 is my favorite.
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Luther Ray Abel, NRO: There will be more thoughtful columns on the site today concerning the prosecution of our raid on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Nonetheless, I feel the need to note that when the U.S. and her military get to feeling frisky, there isn’t much anyone, anywhere, can do about it, and the bad actors of the world should thank their lucky stars we have as many political, structural, and ethical checks on foreign intervention as we do.
I grew up in the wane of the Global War on Terrorism when, after the invasion of Iraq and the ensuing embarrassments, we no longer felt that we were a moral actor. The ensuing rise of Obama and his apology tours — combined with a miasma of general cynicism regarding interventionism of any stripe — that so delighted our enemies in Russia, China, and collectivists everywhere, claimed that the U.S. had not waged a righteous war since we toppled Hitler. It was always Zinnian crap, but it was the prevailing narrative.
How good it is to sit here today and see reports of our victory for the Venezuelan people.
Ed: This could still go sideways too. However, it's worth noting that Panama has remained friendly to the US after we took Noriega into custody in 1989, and that we managed to avoid repetitive juntas there. Let's see how this goes before fully assessing the value of the operation, but it's certainly a move that opens up options for liberty and an end to the narco-trafficking taking place with the illegitimate Maduro regime.
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Add that it is being reported this was supposed to happen four days ago but delayed because of weather and that no leaks happened in that span of time is really quite remarkable. https://t.co/VkVKRmvbW1
— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) January 3, 2026
Ed: Funny how professionalism and focus on core missions tend to tighten up how militaries operate.
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Maduro: the only illegal alien Dems *don’t* want to bring to the US.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) January 3, 2026
Ed: Get ready for lots of performative outrage, but ... yeah.
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Mediaite: “The Mexican president, the Colombian president…I think all of those leaders have to be looking over their shoulder as far as what that means, and where this goes, and tying to the drug cartels. That’s the ultimate threat here, the drug cartels, and the use of different cartels to funnel drugs into the U.S., thereby making a case against these leaders,” Baier said before telling the story of his proposed interview with Maduro.
“I will tell you something here that I was not going to say — We were contacted through intermediaries to have potentially an interview with Nicolás Maduro in recent weeks. We were in the process of having back-channel communications. They wanted me to come to Caracas. It was not feasible; they couldn’t make a decision. He was worried about security. I was talking to the US about the possibilities, then this came to pass.”
Baier added, “Obviously Nicolás Maduro saw that this was coming. You saw the video of him in the car doing an interview with the Spanish channel saying, ‘I’ll give the U.S. whatever they want. He knew this was transpiring. My wife was not into me going to to Caracas either, but I was ready to go.”
Ed: I bet that Bret Baier wishes he'd been in the country when this happened ... and that Mrs. Baier is delighted he wasn't.
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President Trump has done something very important. He has reestablished U.S. military might, morale and credibility - at home and abroad. https://t.co/snW0Z3VykL
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) January 3, 2026
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NBC News: "We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," to new leadership, Trump said during a press conference in Florida.
The U.S. president added that he didn't want a new leader to take over in the wake of Maduro's capture that would result in "the same situation that we had for the last long period of years."
"So, we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. And it has to be judicious, because that’s what we’re all about," Trump added. "We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind."
Ed: I am not terribly enthusiastic about that prospect, but at least there's a recognition that we have to control the outcome on the ground. That's different from Obama's remote demolition of the Qaddafi regime, which created a massive refugee crisis, a failed state, and eventually the death of four Americans in an attack on our consulate in Benghazi. The term "Pottery Barn rules" comes to mind here.
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.@POTUS: "America is a SAFER nation. This morning, it's a PROUDER nation, because it didn't allow this horrible person and this country that was doing very bad things to us, it didn't allow it to happen." pic.twitter.com/VYUSu5f4CA
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 3, 2026
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Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. pic.twitter.com/omF2UpDJhA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026
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Sec of State Rubio warns Cuba:
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 3, 2026
"If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I'd be concerned!" pic.twitter.com/6IJyJ96EsE
Ed: We're not screwing around anymore. That message is getting through loudly and clearly, especially in Tehran. But I'll settle for Havana, too.
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