The bravado attack by the U.S. troops on the Venezuelan government and the arrest of dictator Nicolás Maduro sparked a wave of controversy worldwide. In Poland, the reactions were rather predictable: from enthusiastic peans in honor of Donald Trump from PiS-related environments, to the reflexive, frequently full criticism of U.S. President's actions from many left-liberal circles. The public space has flooded geopolitical analyses and casandric forecasts of the future of global governance.
In all this, however, what should be the starting point of any serious reflection is lost: fate, future and will of Venezuelan society.
It is worth recalling the basic facts. In 2024, the Maduro government excluded opposition leader María Corina Machado from the presidential election. Nevertheless, the elections were held, and the opposition exhibited a replacement candidate – Edmundo González. According to independent estimates and exit poll studies, González won about 70 percent of the vote. The support for Maduro oscillated – depending on the sources – between 14 and 31 percent.
However, Venezuela's governing United Socialist organization has rigged the election results. The National Electoral Council announced that Nicolás Maduro was the winner with a score of 51.95 percent, while Edmundo González Urrutia was to get 43.18 percent of the votes. Significantly, the Council has not presented any papers supporting these results, including the electoral committee protocols.
Neither the opposition nor the vast majority of the democratic planet recognized the authoritative results. After the elections, mass protests broke out in the country, brutally suppressed by the repression apparatus. According to UN data, at least 23 people were killed and over 2.4 1000 were detained. It's hard to blame Venezuelan desperation. Under socialist rule, Venezuela has experienced 1 of the largest economical collapses in modern history: since 2013, the country's GDP has fallen by more than 70 percent.
What, then, does the end of Maduro’s regulation mean?
Firstly, it is the end of a dictator who systematically destroyed the state, its economy and the future of millions of citizens.
Secondly, this is simply a real chance to reconstruct democracy in Caracas.
Thirdly, this is simply a serious blow to 1 of Vladimir Putin's most faithful allies.
Fourthly, it is simply a breach in the damaging, declaratively isolationist MEGA strategy and the strengthening of the position of the US in the global game against Russia.
It is no coincidence that events in Venezuela occurred only a fewer days after Moscow announced false information about the alleged Ukrainian attack on Vladimir Putin's office – information that served Russia as an excuse to suspend peace talks about Ukraine, conducted under the auspices of the American administration. It is besides worth remembering that in October 2025, precisely on Putin's birthday, Russia signed a strategical partnership agreement with Venezuela, including economy, energy and natural materials. For years, Russia has remained the main supplier of arms to the government in Caracas.
Did Donald Trump have the right to arrest a leader of another country from the point of view of global law? Of course not. But the problem is that The strategy of global law has proved powerless for decades against authoritarian regimes that massively violate human rights and turn the lives of full nations into a nightmare. The UN strategy is increasingly reminiscent of the facade – full of resolutions, appeals and declarations that are not followed by real action.
Nicolás Maduro is this textbook example: he falsified elections, de facto stole power, persecuted opposition, ruled through corruption, supported drug cartels, and led the country to economical ruin. Yet, he remained practically unpunished for years.
Critics of US intervention say that it is simply a dangerous precedent that can encourage another authoritarian players to do akin things towards democratic states. However, this argument ignores the fact that dictatorships – with Russia at the head – They have been aggressive for years against Western democracies and allies. Ukraine is the most dramatic example here, but not the only one. Just look at a series of pro-Russian coups in Africa. If anything can halt dictators, it is not passiveness and procedures, but a demonstration of the strength and determination of democratic states – which has been clearly lacking.
If the planet is to become more and more like a power concert, the only real way for Europe to not just become the subject of this game is building the European Union as a global political and strategical force, able to co-form an global order based on European values.
A situation in which authoritarian leaders break all the rules and decision unpunishedly forward, while democracies paralyzed by their own rules do not respond will not bring a good future to the world. In the case of Venezuela, the government change has clear support for the majority of the population, there are real leaders and structures on which a democratic state can be built.
Can we be certain of the intentions behind Donald Trump's actions? Nope. In his case chaos and inconsistencies are a constant component of political style. The final evaluation of this decision should so be postponed until we see its effects. However, if the US intervention leads to the return of power to democratically elected leaders or to a broad political agreement and honest fresh elections in Caracas, 1 thing can be said: It was worth it..
Venezuelans made it clear that they want change. The democratic planet should support them in this fight against violent dictatorship, no substance how reluctant Donald Trump is.
