{"id":2529158,"date":"2026-01-03T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-administration-pushes-law-enforcement-rationale-for-maduro-capture\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T15:10:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:10:46","slug":"trump-administration-pushes-law-enforcement-rationale-for-maduro-capture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-administration-pushes-law-enforcement-rationale-for-maduro-capture\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration pushes law enforcement rationale for Maduro capture"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-administration-pushes-law-enforcement-rationale-for-maduro-capture%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2529158&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>the Trump administration defended the overnight Delta Force operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife as a law-enforcement action aimed at arresting indicted fugitives,saying it required secrecy and could not be pre-notified to Congress. at a Mar-a-Lago press briefing, President Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth framed the mission as DOJ-led with military support and described it as a &#8220;trigger-based&#8221; operation. Critics from both parties questioned the legality and lack of congressional oversight; Rep. Thomas Massie highlighted Maduro&#8217;s 2020 U.S. indictment on drug- and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-illegal-immigrants-arrested-in-connection-with-death-of-dozens-of-migrants\/\" title=\"Two Illegal Immigrants Arrested In Connection With Death of Dozens of Migrants\">weapons-related charges<\/a> while arguing the administration&#8217;s broader statements about running Venezuela and exploiting its oil conflict with the law-enforcement rationale. Democrats and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the raid an act of war that violates federal and international law and warned it harms Venezuelan communities. the administration&#8217;s contrasting treatment of other leaders, such as Trump&#8217;s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez, was also raised during the press conference.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump administration pushes law enforcement rationale for Maduro capture<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2461790\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The Trump administration is defending the capture of former <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/venezuela\/\">Venezuelan<\/a> President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nicolas-maduro\/\">Nicolas Maduro<\/a> and his wife Cilia Flores as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/150-missing-children-found-in-tennessee-as-part-of-operation-volunteer-strong\/\" title=\"150 Missing Children Found In Tennessee As Part Of \u2018... Volunteer Strong\u2019\">law enforcement operation<\/a> as the mission comes under congressional scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>At a Saturday press conference at President Donald Trump&rsquo;s Mar-a-Lago club, the president, Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a>, and Defense Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> repeatedly said the overnight deployment of Delta Force troops to Caracas was aimed at arresting Maduro. Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers have criticized the administration for executing the raid without congressional approval.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4400782\/general-razin-caine-divulges-details-on-trump-venezuela-operation\/\">General &lsquo;Razin&rsquo; Caine divulges details on Trump Venezuela operation that captured Maduro<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4400674\/us-to-run-venezuela-until-transition-can-take-place\/\">US is &#8216;going to run&#8217; Venezuela &#8216;until a proper transition can take place&#8217;: Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4400179\/republicans-rally-around-trump-maduro-capture-democrats-cry-foul\/\">Republicans rally around Trump after Maduro capture as Democrats cry foul over its legality<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4400115\/maduro-captured-taken-venezuela-us-military-operation-caracas-trump\/\">MADURO &lsquo;CAPTURED&rsquo; AND TAKEN OUT OF VENEZUELA AFTER US MILITARY OPERATION IN CARACAS: TRUMP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on,&rdquo; Rubio told reporters on Saturday. &ldquo;It was a trigger-based mission in which conditions had to be met night after night. We watched and monitored that for a number of days.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The secretary added: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s largely a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamas-favorite-bank-gives-january-6-committee-trump-aides-private-records\/\" title=\"Obama&#039;s Favorite Bank Gives January 6 Committee Trump Aide&#039;s Private Records\">law enforcement function<\/a>. Remember, at the end of day, at its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice, and the Department of War supported the Department of Justice in that job. Now there are broader policy implications here, but it&rsquo;s just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify because it endangers the mission.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>To that end, the likes of Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/thomas-massie\/\">Thomas Massie<\/a> (R-KY) have raised questions regarding Maduro&rsquo;s 2020 indictment for charges laid in New York City related to narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the U.S.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4400674\/us-to-run-venezuela-until-transition-can-take-place\/\">US IS &lsquo;GOING TO RUN&rsquo; VENEZUELA &lsquo;UNTIL A PROPER TRANSITION CAN TAKE PLACE&rsquo;: TRUMP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[AttorneyGeneral[AttorneyGeneral<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\/\">Pam Bondi<\/a>]and others legally characterize attack in Venezuela as &lsquo;arrest with military support,&#8217;&rdquo; Massie wrote on social media. &ldquo;Meanwhile Trump announces he&rsquo;s taken over the country and will run it until he finds someone suitable to replace him. Added bonus: says American oil companies will get to exploit the oil. Trump also announced he&rsquo;s ready to attack Venezuela militarily with a second wave if needed. Doesn&rsquo;t seem the least bit consistent with the earlier characterization.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Trump also announced he&rsquo;s ready to attack Venezuela militarily with a second wave if needed. Doesn&rsquo;t seem the least bit consistent with the earlier characterization by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AGPamBondi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AGPamBondi<\/a>, or the one given to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BasedMikeLee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BasedMikeLee<\/a> by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SecRubio<\/a>. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dQYvSy5vBe\">https:\/\/t.co\/dQYvSy5vBe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepThomasMassie\/status\/2007498547256799358?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Democrats have also complained about the lack of congressional oversight with respect to Trump&rsquo;s Venezuela policy, starting from when he and his <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >administration began bombing boats allegedly carrying drugs<\/a> off Venezuela&rsquo;s coast.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4400178\/trump-hails-success-of-fantastic-maduro-mission\/\">TRUMP HAILS SUCCESS OF &lsquo;FANTASTIC&rsquo; MADURO MISSION: &lsquo;I&rsquo;VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicol&aacute;s Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,&rdquo; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on social media. &ldquo;Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law. This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn&rsquo;t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicol&aacute;s Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City. <\/p>\n<p>Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYCMayor\/status\/2007513875709669540?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4399869\/trump-bombed-as-many-countries-2025-as-entire-first-term\/\">TRUMP, THE PRESIDENT OF PEACE, BOMBED AS MANY COUNTRIES IN 2025 AS HE DID DURING HIS ENTIRE FIRST TERM<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During the press conference, Trump was asked about the difference between former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern&aacute;ndez, whom he pardoned&nbsp;despite a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking, and Maduro.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That the man that I pardoned was, if you could equate it to us, he was treated like the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\">Biden administration<\/a> treated a man named Trump. That didn&rsquo;t work out too well for them,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This was a man who was persecuted very unfairly. He was the head of the country. He was persecuted very unfairly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump: Maduro capture was law\u2011enforcement action<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2529159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26003648894364.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[51050,36612,32640,50813],"class_list":["post-2529158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-law-enforcement-2","tag-maduro","tag-trump-administration","tag-venezuela-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26003648894364.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2529158"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2529162,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529158\/revisions\/2529162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2529159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2529158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2529158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2529158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}