JD Vance Sends a PSA to Those Calling Trump’s Capture of Maduro ‘Illegal’

News of Saturday night’s raid that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro had barely gotten out before Democrats started bellyaching.

“This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing,” Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego wrote in a post on the social media platform X.

But Vice President J.D. Vance had an answer just as quickly — and he delivered it in “public service announcment” in no uncertain terms.

First, Vance noted that the crisis between President Donald Trump and the Maduro government had bubbled for months before boiling over  — “the president offered multiple off ramps,” Vance wrote. Then the vice president made the point crystal clear:

“And PSA for everyone saying this was ‘illegal’:

“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.”

And PSA for everyone saying this was “illegal”:

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.

— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 3, 2026

The tone — and its invocation of American law — was exactly right. And the contrast it drew to reactions from other supposed “world leaders,” as well as American Democrats, was striking.

On the global front, there was the usual noise from the usual suspects about the use of American force.

Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel — himself a communist dictator — called the strike a “criminal US attack,” according to CBS News.

China’s government — that paragon of international good-feeling and human rights — claimed it was “deeply shocked and strongly condemns” the operation, according to Reuters.

The Russian government, hip deep in blood from a war that Trump is trying to end, called the strike “condemnable,” Reuters reported.

And, of course, Democrats in the United States were not happy. Gallego had plenty of company in the leftist party launching spurious attacks on Trump’s decisive use of military force.

But Vance was having none of it. And he had logic and law on his side.

He also had a lot of supporters on social media.

All of a sudden these people care about “illegal.” LOL. Let’s just say it was “undocumented.” LOL

— 𝗟⃥𝗜⃥𝗕⃥𝗥⃥𝗘⃥ (@RealIggyLibre) January 3, 2026

Thank you to the brave service men that carried out this strike. Thank you to the Trump Administration for the courage to stop the scourge of drugs into the US. As a parent who lost a child to this evil, I feel this should have been done long ago. I am grateful.

— Another_Ting (@another_ting) January 3, 2026

The United States’ recent military operation in Venezuela — decisive, disciplined, and strategically executed — deserves to be recognized for what it was: an act of legitimate self-defense. Americans have every reason to commend it, because the American people have been under…

— Paulo Sa Elias (@paulosaelias) January 3, 2026

Of course, the response to Vance’s post wasn’t universally supportive — the reflexive carping from administration critics was on full display, too. But his point is unassailable.

The U.S. confrontation with Venezuela did not appear out of nowhere. A major headache during Trump’s first term, it has been going on for more than a decade with Maduro (and before that, with his strongman predecessor, Hugo Chavez).

Maduro has had plenty of chances to back down from his position — starting with making some effort to stop the flow of drugs and criminals from his country into the United States. But since that was apparently part of his whole strategy, he didn’t take advantage of those chances.

He evidently thought living “in a palace in Caracas,” as Vance put it, allowed him to behave with impunity.

He’s now learned differently.

“Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says,” Vance wrote, before going on to thank the actual individuals who carried out the mission:

“Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation.”

It was a post — with a message — that was a very public service to Democrats in the U.S. and dictators around the world.

They should be paying attention.

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