Maduro capture ‘reckless act,’ ‘violates int’l law,’ ‘green light for China to take Taiwan’

Around 12,000 miles from Venezuela, leaders from the Marianas weighed in on the capture of the South American country’s president by the U.S. military.

In the wee hours of Jan. 3, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia, were captured in Caracas by U.S. Delta Force during a large-scale military operation known as “Operation Absolute Resolve.”

The legal basis for Maduro’s capture stems from an unsealed four-count indictment in the Southern District of New York, charging him with narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and the possession and use of machine guns and destructive devices.

U.S. authorities also allege that Maduro led the “Cartel de los Soles,” a criminal organization that leveraged Venezuelan state resources to protect and facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States in partnership with terrorist groups such as the FARC.

Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands vice chair Stephen Woodruff said that while he congratulated U.S. troops on the capture of Maduro, he still described the operation as a “pretty reckless act.”

“Using military force in that way is essentially an act of war, and Congress is the only body authorized to declare war,” Woodruff said in an interview with Marianas Press. “There apparently was no consultation with Congress, so it’s a pretty reckless act.”

Woodruff added that, strategically, Maduro’s arrest means little, as nothing fundamental has changed in Venezuela aside from the name of the person in charge.

“The whole corrupt, authoritarian, tyrannical government is composed of multiple components. All of them are corrupt and looking out for each other. It doesn’t change any of that,” he said.

He went on to compare the U.S. capture of Maduro—while acknowledging the difference in scale—to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939.

“This is not on the same magnitude, but it’s no different in kind than those invasions,” Woodruff said. “So, if the U.S. can do this in Venezuela, what is to keep China from thinking they are perfectly within their rights to take over Taiwan? How much different is that? In terms of international diplomacy, international law, and U.S. law, it’s quite illegal. I think Congress needs to take action.”

Woodruff suggested that the U.S. House of Representatives impeach Trump, followed by a Senate conviction. Another alternative, he said, would be for the Executive Branch to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would transfer presidential powers to Vice President JD Vance.

For Dr. Robert Underwood, a former Guam delegate to the U.S. Congress and co-founder of the Pacific Center for Island Security, said Trump’s action in Venezuela underscores a shift in how his administration approaches global conflicts.

“Trump has already abandoned the commitment in his administration’s recent National Security Strategy to avoid interventions,” Underwood said in an email to Marianas Press. “The willingness to engage in behavior that violates international law and sabotages a commitment to a rules-based order makes the world more chaotic.”

Asked about the impact of Trump’s actions on the Western Pacific, Underwood said the implications remain uncertain.

“It is hard to say whether China is emboldened by Trump’s actions,” he said. “What is clear is that Taiwan’s democratic future is of little concern to Trump. The United States is now openly pursuing an international course of action in which democratic values and a rules-based order are of little concern.”

Underwood added that Chinese military activities are aimed at more firmly establishing a strategic presence in the Marianas’ immediate neighborhood, regardless of whether Beijing ultimately decides to take Taiwan by force.

“U.S. military activities and reactions to these activities are not tied to broader values,” he said. “They are meant to ‘flex,’ with the hope that flexing will deter China from taking action. In either case, our role as residents of the Marianas is to be part of the anticipated conflict and not part of the decision-making. The leaders of the Marianas and Guåhan need to step up to protect our interests and not await the latest military maneuver.”

Voices for Freedom’s Jeff Race said Trump is acting as a bully by ordering U.S. troops to arrest Maduro.

“Trump is recreating a world in which militarily strong countries can do whatever they want to those less powerful,” Race said in a social message to Marianas Press. “He has abandoned the alliances that have kept the U.S. and most of the world stable for 80 years."

On the implications for the Pacific region, Race said Trump is effectively giving China a green light to take Taiwan.

“I don’t think anyone should have any illusions about Trump being willing to take Greenland, Panama, Canada, or Mexico,” he said. “He has clearly stated that the purpose of taking Venezuela is oil. Keeping in mind that Trump suffers from the same psychological disorder as Hitler, I think he sees himself as a sort of emperor of the Western Hemisphere.”

Race added that the Venezuela operation also serves as a smokescreen for Trump’s other controversies.

“It makes for a great distraction from the Epstein files,” he said. “It’s also a distraction from his open corruption, which is at a level we could never have imagined from a U.S. president and is barely covered by the media amid the fire hose of scandal we see every single day. Voices for Freedom will be protesting again soon.”