Maduro’s capture shows the Trump administration’s crackdown on drug cartels

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The arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro is expected to have a lasting impact on his country, but experts tell Fox News Digital that it could reshape the way the US and other neighbors work together going forward, especially through increased cooperation in the fight against the drug-trafficking epidemic.US troops arrested Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, when they raided the presidential palace in Caracas over the weekend. The two pleaded not guilty to terrorism and other charges in a Manhattan court on Monday.”I see a realignment and a re-emphasis on the cartels,” said retired US Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, former SEAL and member of President George W. Bush’s National Security Council.TRUMP SWORE WE ‘RULE’ VENEZUELA AS HE REVEALS HE SPOKE WITH DELCY RODRÍGUEZ Nicolas Maduro is seen in handcuffs after arriving at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by armed federal agents as he gets into an armored car en route to federal court in Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2026 in New York City. (Photos by XNY/Star Max/GC via Getty Images)The Trump administration’s decriminalization of a suspected narco-terrorist and illegal leader marks a major shift in American foreign policy over the years after former President Barack Obama’s “red lines” in Syria became ineffective, he told Fox News Digital.”We say the red line three times, if you do chemicals, we will do this,” he said. “Every time they ran over those red lines and we followed without doing anything.”Now, he said, President Donald Trump has shown he is willing to do something to emphasize his priorities.MADURO’S KIDNAPPING IS ‘BEGINNING OF THE LAST’ FOR CUBA GOVERNMENT, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN SAYS Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seen in handcuffs after arriving in a helicopter in Manhattan, on their way to federal court in Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2026 in New York City. (Photos by XNY/Star Max/GC)”If you are going to come here and pollute our grounds, we will fix that,” Harward said. “That’s probably one of the most important parts of the Venezuelan mission. He set the policy, reinforced it with his words, and then they took action.”This message is not limited to the governments of this region, but also to companies that sell drugs and other traffickers, said Harward.”Don’t forget that this started with taking out the drug boats, followed by the supply of drugs, not only because of the damage it has done to our people in our country, but also because of the control they had in these countries,” Harward told Fox News Digital.DEFIANT MADURO SAYS ‘PRISONER OF WAR’ IN FIRST US COURT APPEARANCE The video shows a kinetic strike on a narco-terrorist vessel in international waters from Wednesday, December 31. (US Southern Command via X)He predicted that other countries may increase their cooperation with American efforts to catch drug traffickers before they reach American soil.”We have been preventing drugs from not only coming from Venezuela, but all of South America at sea for years, maybe there will be border surveillance within those countries, cooperation where we look at the ports,” Harward said.Trump’s crackdown on drug trafficking coincided with a new focus on border security, which has been unwavering during most of former President Joe Biden’s one-term term.WHO’S WHO IN THE MADURO CASE: THE JUDGE, PROSECUTORS AND DEFENSE ATTORNEYS NOW CONCERN Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro shakes hands with his wife Cilia Flores as they leave the Capitolio, home of the National Assembly, after being sworn in during the presidential inauguration ceremony in Caracas on Jan. 10, 2025. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)Interim data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that drug overdose deaths rose under the Biden administration before falling to levels seen during the Trump administration.”The fallout begins at the end of the Biden administration, but the question is, was it expected that a president who was serious about crime would come?” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and professor of criminal justice at Penn State Lehigh Valley. “Border security has a lot to do with slowing down, making it less likely for drug dealers and their mules to bring drugs into the country.”Military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean could be a deterrent, he added.THE CASE OF THE VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO REPRESENTS TO US THE HISTORY OF DEALING WITH DRUGS OF THEIR PEOPLE. Homeless people amid the fentanyl crisis in San Francisco, California, United States on May 16, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)”Prevention matters in criminal justice policy,” Giacalone said.Trump invoked the Monroe Doctrine, a 19th-century policy of American influence in the Western Hemisphere, as part of his administration’s renewed focus on regional neighbors, even calling it Don-roe’s doctrine in recent remarks.Aside from the drug trade, Venezuela’s operations have major consequences around the world, Harvard added, especially in countries allied with US rivals Russia, China and Iran or countries that try to play both sides.CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAMAmid reports of unrest and instability in Iran and Trump’s vocal support for anti-government protesters, democracy may decline sometime this year, Harvard said.”We [would] They really changed the order of the world, not only in those regions, but also in those who represent Russia and China – their few allies in the world are being reduced,” he said. “And at the same time, it sends a clear message to those countries on the fence, trying to keep a foot in both camps. ”

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