As the situation in Venezuela continues to capture international attention, one expert believes the Trump administration’s decision to capture and detain former President Nicolás Maduro could yield positive results.
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“My first reaction was, ‘What an incredible job of the American military to pull this off with no U.S. casualties,’” Col. (Ret.) Gregory Thompson, professor of criminal justice at Cedarville University, told CBN News of the Trump administration’s bold move to detain Maduro.
Beyond that, Thompson said his mind also went to matters surrounding faith and the church.
“But, more importantly to me as a Christian, I’m thinking of just the incredible joy because I have friends that work with pastors in Venezuela, and it’s been difficult, as you probably know,” he said. “When Hugo Chavez took over Venezuela, he kicked out all mission organizations, so that was significant, and the pastors there are being salt and light.”
While many Venezuelans and political observers are excited to see Maduro go, Thompson said there are still many questions about what comes next.
“My general sense is I’m excited for maybe a hopeful future for Venezuela — one that’s free, particularly free for the free exercise and the spread of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ,” he said.
Thompson said the situation leading up to Maduro’s ouster was perilous and difficult after Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chávez wreaked what critics call havoc on free speech, expression, and truth.
“They pretty much wrecked the economy,” he said. “Inflation is beyond rampant. They have a politically corrupt government, which I think we’ve heard in the news.”
Thompson said socialism has been a disaster globally, with ineffective policies failing to create human flourishing.
All of this leads to President Donald Trump’s decision to send the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force to capture Maduro. While some speculate that oil was a driving force, Thompson believes it’s a factor but not the “main driving force” behind the decision.
“I think with President Trump’s concerns when he came into office, this is like the perfect storm,” he said. “Illegal immigration was highly coming from Venezuela … they’re leaving because they want to live in a free country. They want to pursue a place where they can live in freedom and democracy, and so they’re coming to America, but illegally, of course, and in droves. So that’s one issue.”
The other issue, according to Thompson, centers on nations like Iran and terror groups like Hezbollah, with both having purported influence and presence in Venezuela. Mix in Russian and Chinese influence and one can easily see why this collectively becomes a problem for the U.S.
It’s an issue Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed on a recent episode of “Face the Nation.”
“It’s very simple, OK? In the 21st century, under the Trump administration, we are not going to have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere, in the sphere of control and the crossroads for Hezbollah, for Iran and for every other malign influence in the world,” he said. “That’s just not gonna exist.”
Thompson said these issues — mixed with the narcoterrorism claims against Maduro — made a compelling case for Trump to take action.
“To be fair, much of the drugs coming in the U.S. are coming from Colombia and Mexico, but there is significant amount of drug flow,” he said. “Obviously, we’ve seen the boat strikes coming from Venezuela.”
Ultimately, some critics have said Trump didn’t have authority under international law to attack a sovereign country. But Thompson said there’s a self-defense exemption.
And with drugs impeding so many Americans’ lives over so many years amid an ongoing drug war, this argument becomes compelling.
There’s no telling what comes next, but Thompson noted Iran is one of the biggest losers in this scenario.
“Talk about an interesting situation,” he said. “Iran has really lost a significant amount of power in the region. Based on the stealth bomber strikes, the Israeli action, the 12-day war, the dismantling Hezbollah and Hamas, this is yet another blow to Iran for certain.”
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