Nicolás Maduro and his illegitimate, narco-terrorist Venezuelan government must fall — not just for the sake of the majority of law-abiding Venezuelans who deserve to have the government they voted for in the summer of 2024, but for every single one of us in the United States as well.
This has been U.S. policy for years — sort of, Joe Biden was a bit soft on Maduro — but in recent months, Donald Trump and his administration have taken steps to ramp up the pressure on the dictator in the form of sanctions, military strikes on his drug boats, seizing his assets, increasing the reward for his arrest, etc. I'm not sure what comes next. I'm not sure how/when/if Maduro will fall. Sources say that even Trump hasn't made a final decision on any of that.
But it feels like it's coming. Opposition leaders within Venezuela have grown more optimistic. If you follow them on social media or watch their interviews, the hope and determination are palpable. Headlines prove that Maduro's kingdom is crumbling bit by bit. And World Leader Pretend is nervous, which is evident in his every speech and action.
There's also the Marco Rubio factor. This is something Sen. Rubio wanted for years, and now he's Secretary of State/National Security Advisor Rubio. He has the president's ear. He has the president's trust. He knows what's at stake if we lose the Western Hemisphere, our own backyard, to either crime or our international adversaries. We saw hints of that between January 2021 and January 2025, and personally, I'd rather never go back there.
Finally, there's no better time than the present. Chavismo is on its deathbed. Across Latin America, those who have lived under communism for decades are fed up. Those who have lived at the mercy of cartels and gangs and terrorist organizations are fed up. We've already seen some changes, and if the Trump administration continues on the current path, I think we're likely to see more. On top of that, Trump is well-respected around the world. If a Democrat wins in 2028, he's more likely to go after our Latin American allies than create more of them, like the Biden administration did with Nayib Bukele of El Salvador.
But it all starts with Venezuela.
There are numerous reasons why it's in the best interest of the U.S. to ensure Maduro finally finds his exit sign, but here, I've picked out 10 that are important. I'll try to make each one as comprehensive as possible, but the truth is that each of these items warrants numerous articles and deep dives, so I'm just touching the surface.
1. National Security
Maduro isn't just some random dictator. Venezuela isn't just a failed country. It serves as a launchpad for cartels and narco-terrorists poisoning and destabilizing American communities, and it's a safe haven for terrorist groups like Hezbollah. The Maduro regime itself is a cartel.
In March of 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a grand jury indictment against Maduro and 14 of his besties, stating that he had been the leader of Cartel de los Soles since 1999, and that he used this power not only to abuse the people of Venezuela and corrupt its institutions, but also to flood the U.S. with drugs. He was also involved with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. According to the DOJ, "Maduro negotiated multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine; directed the Cartel of the Suns to provide military-grade weapons to the FARC; coordinated with narcotics traffickers in Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking; and solicited assistance from FARC leadership in training an unsanctioned militia group that functioned, in essence, as an armed forces unit for the Cartel of the Suns."
At the time, under the Narcotics Rewards Program, the first Trump administration put a reward out for his arrest to the tune of $15 million. In July, that number rose to $50 million. Charges include "narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices."
And let's not forget Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan prison gang turned terrorist organization. Maduro denounces these guys publicly or pretends they no longer exist, but the reality is that he's weaponized them. The Miami Herald reported in January that "Tren de Aragua has long been suspected of being at the service of the Venezuelan regime, with its members used for political destabilization actions in countries with large Venezuelan populations, but now are being used to kill individuals considered a threat to [the] Maduro regime." Of course, we've seen examples of this in action, like the takeover of apartment buildings in Aurora, Colo.
Rubio has also hammered this point, pointing out that when deported TdA members returned to Venezuela earlier this year, Maduro's top guys greeted them with hugs on the runway. Rubio even said that when TdA members were held at Guantanamo, the Marines there said, "They were worse than the Al Qaeda guys that were in their jails."
But it's not all home-grown terror. Venezuela is home to one of the largest Lebanese diaspora communities, which has helped Hezbollah gain a foothold in the country. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), it takes part in illicit activities like "drug trafficking, money laundering, and illegal financing" to help fund its own terroristic activities. CSIS also reports that Hezbollah "conducts much of its business" from Venezuela's Margarita Island, and that Maduro's regime often provides militants with false passports and visas. In the past, the U.S. government has sanctioned Venezuelan companies and individuals with ties to Hezbollah.
2. Mass Migration
All of that brings me to something that's heavy on many American minds: mass migration. Venezuela faces one of the largest displacement crises in the world. Between 2014 and 2024, 7.7 million Venezuelans fled their home country. It's lost 20% of its population, according to USA for UNHCR, with an average of 2,000 people leaving each day. Many of them walk thousands of miles on foot. They face dangers at the hands of men and the natural world. That often includes crossing the dangerous Darien Gap to get to Central America, a massive, treacherous, and disorienting jungle filled with deadly predators, disease-carrying mosquitoes, and little to no clean drinking water. It's also filled with cartels, smugglers, and terrorist organizations, like FARC. Women are raped. Men are robbed. People die along the way.
But that's the path they're willing to take to get away from Maduro.
The majority of those people have landed in other parts of Latin America or the Caribbean. I've actually witnessed this first hand — when I was in Costa Rica in, I believe, the fall of 2023, a friend of mine got held up in traffic for two hours due to large groups of Venezuelan refugees passing through and camping out in the streets. He acted as though this was nothing new. I also see them on social media. Some days, it feels like half of my X timeline is filled with Venezuelans who are in our country, many of whom just want to see democracy return to their own nation, so they can go home or their families can be safe.
Countries in South America have absorbed so many of these migrants that their own infrastructures are strained. The schools in Ecuador and Peru face resource shortages. Colombia's public services, especially near border towns, can't handle the additional people. In Chile, education and health care services are overwhelmed. These countries have seen some increases in crime and decreases in general stability.
In the United States, before Trump's crackdown, Venezuelans were one of the top nationalities to cross over the southern border illegally, most recently ranking second below Mexicans. During the first three years of the Biden administration, about half a million entered the United States. That number climbed from 4,520 in 2020 to 334,914 in 2023. That Costa Rican friend of mine who was stuck in traffic even told me, "All of this started when Biden became your president."
While many of those people coming from Venezuela just wanted to get away from Maduro and find a new life, some of them had darker motives. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, terrorism — you name it. That's how the TdA thugs get here. That's how terrorists from other parts of the world, like Hezbollah, who wish every American dead, get here. Venezuela is their starting point. Yes, we have a strong border under Trump, but who's to say what the future holds? And if fewer people are trying to enter our country, it means we're spending fewer resources on stopping them.
3. Geopolitical Competition
Welcome to the new Cold War! Aside from national security, I think this one is the most important item on the list. We can't let China (or any other nation) have its own swimming pool in our backyard because soon, it will take over the whole house. Right now, it's already parked a few lounge chairs and a grill out there.
China has its hands all over Latin America through its Belt and Road Initiative, but it has especially taken advantage of Venezuela, which has received over $60 billion in loans from the Chinese in recent years. The country pays the CCP back with oil, but it's still billions of dollars in debt and essentially at the Asian country's mercy. For what it's worth, China strongly opposes U.S. sanctions on entities that do business with Venezuela and either ignores them or finds ways around them.
But it goes much deeper than the loans that prop up Maduro and his thugs. Venezuela has purchased hundreds of millions of dollars of lethal and nonlethal weapons from China as the country starves. Many of those weapons end up in the hands of Maduro's military police. Russia was once Venezuela's top supplier of weapons, but that changed around 2013. It's also worth noting that China has slowed its support in this area due to Venezuela's insolvency.
China is also heavily invested in Venezuela's infrastructure. It paid hundreds of millions to refurbish and update Venezuela's main ports. As recently as July of this year, the two countries signed agreements that would allow China to upgrade Venezuela's current crumbling power grid. The agreements would also allow China to deliver heavy equipment, and make "further investments in key sectors such as hydrocarbons, agriculture, industry, and public services."
There's also the matter of Carnet de la Patria or the Fatherland Card system. Chinese telecom company ZTE provided the technology for the system back in the late 2010s when Maduro's popularity was waning. The dictator uses it for surveillance, to monitor things like voting records and medical histories. Those who aren't seen as patriotic regime supporters may have food or services withheld. Human rights groups have strongly condemned the system, but China's tech exports continue to keep it running.
China doesn't partner with Venezuela just for oil or for altruistic reasons. It does so because it's found a door wide open, welcoming it into the Western Hemisphere. The CCR sees it as an "in," a way to dominate the United States. We can't let that continue. Venezuela's opposition leaders — the ones who should be running the country — are very pro-U.S., have applauded the Trump administration's actions toward Maduro, and are ready to work with us instead.
And yes, there are other countries of concern, like Russia and Iran, but they have their own issues at the moment. China is the imminent threat, and we must do what we can to keep them out of the Americas.
4. Countering Anti-U.S. Alliances
I've written a good bit about this in the past, but U.S. enemies aren't limited to Europe and Asia. We have our very own anti-U.S. alliance here in the Western Hemisphere, and right now, Maduro is basically what's keeping it alive. In 2004, Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro got together to form the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), which also includes Nicaragua, Bolivia (for now — we'll see what happens after a new anti-socialist, potentially pro-U.S. leader is elected), and a handful of small Caribbean countries. What was meant to be some sort of trade pact is basically just a tired old Marxist dictators' club and sounding board for anti-U.S. sentiments, as well as another way for our adversaries, like China, Russia, etc., to gain some ground in the hemisphere.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has mentioned in interviews that if Maduro falls, Nicaragua and Cuba will follow. Through ALBA, Cuba relies heavily on Venezuela's oil. The communist Caribbean nation's economy and infrastructure are already weak. Without that oil, it could land itself on its deathbed. Nicaragua is a bit trickier. While it doesn't rely on Venezuela for oil these days, Daniel Ortega and Maduro are quite close, and he would lose a lot of diplomatic ties, making room for his own opposition to oust him.
Maduro's downfall could be how we finally dismantle ALBA.
5. Regional Stability
Even if we weren't concerned with the Western Hemisphere as a whole, Venezuela is geographically closer to the United States than many people realize. It's only about 1,300 miles from Miami. To put that in perspective, it's almost 1,400 miles to Chicago from Miami. As the CSIS pointed out in 2019, for this reason, "any crisis in Venezuela is bound to spill over into U.S. interests." It's also spilling into other South American countries, spreading criminal activity and threatening our relationships with them.
So we get rid of Maduro. Cartel activity and crime rates decrease. Mass migration slows. China is forced to back off. ALBA begins to crumble. Cuba is in crisis. Ortega's detractors finally rise up and challenge him without his buddy backing him up. Venezuela's black market fuel operations come to a halt. It's not going to be a peaceful utopia — there are still many, many issues within the Western Hemisphere — but it's a damn good start toward more regional stability.
It won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight, but the potential is there, and I think the only way we'll ever reach any of it is while Trump and Rubio are in office. Few current leaders seem to understand the importance of any of this like they do.
6. Energy and Oil
Something that we don't talk about enough is the Essequibo conflict. It's too complicated to put it all out here, but in short, Venezuela and the British government began this fight over Guyana's Essequibo region — about two-thirds of the country's western side — back during the 19th century. Even as Guyana established independence, there was never really a resolution to the dispute. However, in 2015, ExxonMobil discovered that it was a goldmine of oil, and ever since, Maduro has taken numerous actions to claim Essequibo for himself, despite orders from the International Court of Justice.
The U.S. and Guyana are significant allies, particularly when it comes to oil. As of August 2025, the South American country has an oil-producing capacity of 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) and growing. It currently produces 685,000 bpd, and a significant portion of that — over a quarter — goes to the U.S. As a matter of fact, it's one of the first places Rubio visited earlier this year after his confirmation as Secretary of State. I've mentioned this before, but I'll never forget a young Guyanese reporter asking him if the U.S. would stand with Guyana if Venezuela attacked. Rubio didn't commit to anything, but he said it would be a big mistake on Venezuela's part and mentioned that the U.S. has a "big navy" that can be anywhere in the world quickly. That exchange stuck with me.
Of course, Venezuela itself is home to the largest oil reserves in the world. It should be one of the most prosperous countries in the world, as well, and it was at one time. But Chávez and Maduro have ruined it through corruption, black market deals, and mismanagement. A stable Venezuela could create a stronger U.S.-friendly energy partnership in the region, stabilize gas prices here at home, and again, take our hemisphere's oil away from China.
7. Strategic Trade Partnerships
Maduro's fall could lead to a major trade revival with the United States. Before Chavez, U.S. trade with Venezuela was good, and, believe it or not, it actually peaked under Chavez, despite his cries of imperialism. Circa 2011-2012, total trade was $60+ billion. In 2024, that number was down to $11.9 billion, though that was a 41.7% increase from 2023.
What happened? Chavez died in 2013, and Maduro came to power, mismanaged Venezuela's oil reserves, and implemented corruption at a greater level than his predecessor. And if I may, Maduro isn't the brightest bulb in the box. He doesn't make up for what he lacks in intelligence with education, either. As I've mentioned, he didn't graduate high school, and his only "formal education" is a year at a communist indoctrination camp in Cuba. Throw in some U.S. sanctions, and Maduro turned to China. Instead of finding a new trade partner, the CCP put him on a leash, and Venezuela's economy collapsed.
8. Impact on U.S. Businesses and Investments
Maduro's incompetence didn't just hurt Venezuela's economy; it also hit many U.S. businesses hard. Major oil companies, as well as agribusinesses, manufacturing, and various service industries, were forced out due to bad contracts and nationalization. Consumer goods lost a major South American market. Airlines pulled out. Corruption made it nearly impossible for U.S. financial institutions to do business there. Sanctions finished the job.
Here are a few receipts:
- In 2017, after 35 years of operations, General Motors left Venezuela after an "illegal judicial seizure" of its plant in Valencia. In a statement, GM said, the plant "was unexpectedly taken by the public authorities, preventing normal operations. In addition, other assets of the company, such as vehicles, have been illegally taken from its facilities."
- Venezuela was once one of Coca-Cola's biggest markets, but that changed in 2016 when the company had to halt production there. Government policies had led to a sugar shortage.
- Also in 2017, multiple airlines, including Delta and United, stopped flights to and from Venezuela, citing safety concerns and the Maduro regime owing major carriers around $3.8 billion in trapped revenue. If you want to fly to Caracas today — and the State Department highly recommends that U.S. citizens do not — you have to get there via another Latin American airline, like Copa or Avianca. A few other international airlines offer flights there as well.
This doesn't even take into account U.S. oil companies, which is a much bigger issue. For example, in 2019, the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded ConocoPhillips $8.5 billion related to Venezuela's "expropriation of its crude assets in 2007."
Machado and Edmundo González, the man who should be Venezuela's president, promise to protect U.S. investors.
9. Humanitarian Aspect
There's a reason why nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled over the last decade or so. Life under Maduro is far from anything anyone in the world deserves. A 2022 poll conducted by Centro de Investigaciones Populares suggests that 72% of those who left said "economic problems, including hyperinflation, poverty, and food insecurity, pushed them to migrate."
While the U.S. mainstream media seems intent on reporting on kids in Gaza, it largely ignores the ones in Venezuela these days — the ones who go to school hungry, the babies in hospitals who have died due to a failed power grid, the sick toddlers who can't get basic antibiotics because of the medicine shortage.
The United Nations — which has been incredibly soft on Maduro (shocking, I know) — reported in 2019 that one in three people in Venezuela doesn't get enough to eat. Various sources have verified that the country lacks 80% of basic medical supplies, and some hospitals don't even have running water. In 2018, UNICEF reported that the number of malnourished children was growing quickly. More recent numbers prove that. I read a story the other day about a father who said he goes to work hungry every day so his children can eat what little food the family has access to at any given time.
Lack of food and a failed health care system aren't the only problems Venezuelans face. Maduro is a dictator in the purest form of the word. Those who speak out against him are at risk. They're jailed, harassed, exiled, tortured, murdered, or they simply disappear. Human Rights Watch reports that just after Maduro stole the 2024 election, "over 2,000 people have been detained for protesting, criticizing the government, or supporting the opposition. The authorities have charged hundreds with vague offenses, such as 'incitement to hatred' and 'terrorism,' which carry sentences of up to 30 years."
I know what some of you are thinking. The United States is not a charity. That's not why I mention all of this. While I personally care deeply about the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, I'm not suggesting throwing out more U.S. tax dollars to fix it. I'm pointing out that this sort of failed state is what leads to the problems that impact all of us: mass migration, cartel playgrounds where criminals run amok, terror proxies, etc.
It impacts every single other item on this list.
10. Improved Environmental Health
Something else we don't talk about much is the impact Maduro's actions have on the land and waters surrounding Venezuela. That environmental nightmare impacts us more than you might think. Oil spills are the norm. PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned and poorly managed oil and natural gas company, saw "13 oil spills, gas leaks and explosions of parts of oil pipelines and polyducts" in the first two quarters of 2025 alone. In 2024, there were "about 35 spills in five different states." This destroys fisheries and pollutes Caribbean waters.
Venezuela is also one of the worst global offenders when it comes to gas flaring, a process that not only impacts wildlife but also human health. Pregnant women who are exposed face a 50% greater risk of premature birth. It can also exacerbate respiratory disease and decrease lung function.
Illegal mining in the Orinoco Arc has caused widespread deforestation and the destruction of once pristine protected areas, while many international environmental groups turn a blind eye. Mining also has a major impact on wildlife. Venezuela is one of the most biodiverse places in the world, but mercury poisoning from the mines and deforestation threaten many species, from jaguars to the unique Orinoco river dolphins.
For what it's worth, the mines are also a hotbed for human rights issues. They often employ children who need to earn money for their families. Working conditions are extremely unsafe and have led to several deaths. Maduro's narco-terrorist thugs typically run the mines, and the workers must pay a percentage of their wages to their "bosses." They're also subject to abuse, ranging from hand amputations to murder.
This is not some sort of "climate change" BS; this is a real eco-crisis that threatens the entire planet.
As a U.S. citizen, it's easy to look at Venezuela and ignore it — another Latin American dictator, another foreign crisis, another problem we need to ignore. But going soft on Maduro or ignoring him completely is only going to create more problems for us in the future. Trump and Rubio have weakened Maduro's power, but it's time for them to finish the job.
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Note: I began working on this article on the day Charlie Kirk was murdered, so obviously, it got pushed aside. It's taken me a long time to digest and compile all of my research, and even so, there is so much more I could add, and many other reasons I could include on this list. I narrowed it down to the 10 I felt were most important and stood on their own without too much overlap. I know many of you are saying, "I don't want another Iraq" or "Let's not do nation building," but ensuring Maduro falls won't be that. As a matter of fact, I'm already working on a follow-up with reasons why this is different. It'll be available for our PJ Media VIP members later this week. If you're not a VIP already, I hope you'll sign up and join us.
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