WASHINGTON: With the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump and his allies are calling the audacious military operation a major success as the US leader once again demonstrated a willingness to use US forces for risky missions that come with a potential big payoff.
The operation has ousted a South American strongman blasted by Trump’s administration as an “illegitimate” dictator and a “narco-terrorist,” a scourge responsible for a steady of stream of illegal drugs poisoning US and Europe.
“It was a brilliant operation, actually,” Trump told The New York Times shortly after US forces were cleared from Venezuelan airspace.