Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife were arrested and sent to the United States for trial. To be honest, I am quite shocked. Yesterday, a netizen left a comment reminding me to talk about this matter. At that time, I was testing an AI drawing workflow and thought he was referring to the US military blockade of Venezuela, so I replied that it was not important. After finishing coding and testing, when I browsed X to catch up on news, I learned that he had been arrested. At first, I even thought it was a joke, but it turned out to be true. I have never doubted that the United States has overwhelming military superiority over Venezuela, but the fact that he was captured like a dog and taken to the United States still surprises me quite a bit.
As a Chinese person, when dictators like Saddam and Gaddafi fell from power, I was always glad to see it happen. Maduro is no exception. I have absolutely no sympathy for these kinds of people. If Trump could deploy special forces to capture his good friend Kim Jong-un, I would definitely give him a thumbs up. Moreover, I would stop criticizing him during his term in the coming years and thank him for his historic contribution to the North Korean people. I know that my political views like this are hard for many Chinese netizens to accept. They instinctively oppose everything the US government does. However, that is not the case for me. I judge things based on right and wrong. The US blockade of Venezuela itself has no legal basis. It is actually bullying Venezuela and violates United Nations rules. But capturing a dictator like Maduro is always a good thing at any time.
Yet as I also said, the US military directly capturing the president of a country verifies the United States disregard for international rules. China, Russia, Cuba, and other countries have expressed condemnation. Some South American countries, such as Ecuador and Argentina, seem to have expressed support. I think the leaders of these countries have water in their brains. Personally, one can support Maduro being captured emotionally, but it cannot be said out loud. Because the essence of this matter is that the United States is using its superpower strength to openly carry out armed intervention in the internal affairs of other countries. In such actions, the likes and dislikes of the US government override the United Nations Charter and the international order. This is not the first time the Americans have done this. They previously captured the president of Panama as well. But this time, the impact will be greater. Especially for Argentina, President Milei seems to have forgotten that during the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina, the United States firmly supported Britain. If one day the two countries restart hostilities, the Argentine president could also be captured by the West at any time.
The Chinese government expressed protest against this matter, but I believe that for the Chinese government, this is not a bad thing. Since the Americans are powerful and can casually send troops to capture government leaders, China can also enhance its strength and learn to imitate. In the future, when conflicts arise with countries like India or the Philippines, it could directly send troops to capture their leaders and resolve issues with force. Of course, I am just joking. Chinese people are not so obsessed with force. Everyone wants to live their own good lives rather than fight wars everywhere. What the Chinese government needs most is, in the event of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait, to dispatch troops to directly carry out a decapitation strike on Taiwan and achieve armed occupation.
In this operation, Maduro as a government leader had massive supporters domestically and controlled armed forces. But obviously, the Americans had insiders in Venezuela, and part of the population opposed Maduro’s dictatorship. This situation is very similar to the current Taiwan Strait situation. The current government leader is from the independence faction, but he only received 40% of the votes in the election and is now facing an impeachment crisis. Due to the long-term corruption of the Democratic Progressive Party, this party has lost its future in Taiwan and is very likely in its last term in power. Chinese people are not in a hurry to complete unification with Taiwan at present, but they are quite worried about US forces intervening and inciting war across the strait. Now the Americans, without United Nations authorization, have openly captured the leader of a sovereign country, and the US government is triumphant and boasting about it everywhere. Then, since the Chinese government has sovereignty over Taiwan in terms of legal principle and it is recognized by most countries, carrying out the same action against Taiwan leaders would be more reasonable.
Chinese netizens are deeply divided on this matter. Pro-US people call it an act of justice, while anti-US people call it hegemonic behavior. In terms of political ideology, I am highly pro-US. I personally identify with Western universal values. But as I have said many times, in the China-US conflict I support China. This is a matter of national interests and has nothing to do with ideology. The US military capture of Maduro is essentially the same. It is not even in the national interest of the United States but driven by Trump’s personal interests. Trump has encountered great difficulties in mediating the Russia-Ukraine war, and the trade war and technology war against China have been very unsuccessful. Because China now has strong military power and completely does not care about the presence of US troops in East Asia, he has to propose the China-US G2 framework, revive the Monroe Doctrine, show off force in the American backyard, and carry out so-called anti-drug operations. In reality, Americans cannot manage their own country well, which is the root cause of drug proliferation. The related vested interests are mostly American doctors and pharmaceutical companies. These vultures are the fundamental cause of fentanyl proliferation. As for the small amount of cocaine sold by Venezuela, the harm to the United States is not that great at all. Moreover, Venezuela is weak and does not pose a military threat to the United States.
Some anti-China media describe Venezuela as China’s staunch ally, thinking this can harm China’s interests. This is actually even more ridiculous. In fact, China’s diplomatic strategy is vastly different from that of the United States. China and countries like Venezuela, Iran, and North Korea can only be said to share a common anti-US stance. They cannot be called friends at all. Except for expressing firm support for Pakistan, China’s relations with these countries are actually very cold. Take North Korea as an example. Many may not know that because China hoped North Korea would reform and not engage in hereditary rule, it offended Kim Jong-un, and the relations between the two countries have actually been very bad. Most Chinese people have no sympathy for dictatorial regimes. Except for the extreme left, almost no one likes these countries. Kim Jong-un was once listed as a sensitive figure by the Chinese government, strictly prohibited from discussion on internet platforms. But after the ban was lifted, he quickly became the object of crazy mockery by netizens. All kinds of jokes about him emerged endlessly, and he even has dedicated background music.
As for Chinese pro-US people thinking this is a just act, that is completely unfounded. For example, now the Americans are subverting the Iranian regime. The Khamenei whom Americans hate to the core, along with his former master Khomeini, came to power precisely because of American manipulation. It was the Americans who shamelessly betrayed the Pahlavi dynasty, leading to regime change in Iran and ultimately reaping what they sowed. This is purely interest-driven operation and has nothing to do with the values of freedom and democracy. Another example: before Modi was elected prime minister, he was sanctioned by the US government for supporting Hindu persecution of Muslims. But after Modi was elected, the United States immediately lifted the sanctions. And US media basically do not report the serious persecution of Muslims and Christians in India. Julani, whose real name is Ahmed al-Sharaa and wartime alias Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has a clear terrorist history. He was the founder of the al-Qaeda branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, which was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Nations, and many countries. He himself was long listed by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist with a 10 million dollar bounty. But after he controlled the Syrian regime and actively defected to the United States and Israel, he was whitewashed. Now he can visit everywhere in suits and ties, and no one mentions the various serious crimes he committed back then.
So, Maduro being captured, as a Chinese person, I am quite surprised but think it is a good thing. I rather hope Trump can take North Korea as an example and directly capture Kim Jong-un. This guy’s brutal rule over North Korea truly defiles human civilization. I just do not know if he dares. As for the Chinese government, it should also learn lessons from this operation. The US military is not as vulnerable as some domestic netizens claim. Its combat power is still very strong, and its intelligence system and operational efficiency are exemplary. To unify Taiwan, mere exercises are useless. It should also learn from the US military and launch a surprise raid to directly occupy it. Do not fear this or that. Americans are not born with an invincible aura. Only nations that dare to act will gain real benefits. Although unifying Taiwan is far less meaningful to me than my son scoring full marks, after shouting about it for so many years, it is time to learn from the US military’s action capability.