Venezuela

On the morning of January 3^rd, 2026, I found myself in a cab in Medellin, Colombia. The taxista had the radio on with news of Nicholas Maduro’s capture. The driver was Colombian and thrilled by what was being reported. “That regime had to go. Trump has huge balls,” he repeated a few times in Spanish before asking if I was from the country that he saw as having just liberated his neighbors from decades of brutal authoritarian socialist dictatorship.

Later in the day, parades and celebrations started throughout the city. Among Venezuelans, there’s been nearly unanimous support for the U.S. operation to remove Maduro. The vast majority of Colombians are celebrating too, with the only detractors I’ve seen being committed leftists who blindly support the omni-cause: “BLM,” “Free Palestine,” “climate change,” “COVID hysteria,” and all other forms of “social justice.” Make your own decisions about how much weight to give to the words of such people.

Although it’s difficult not to prematurely rejoice alongside the long-suffering Venezuelans, it should be asked- what comes next? How many of you were celebrating when Chavez promised you free stuff in exchange for your freedom? Will enough of you reject the next false promise of a utopia from a politician? Are you ready to sacrifice part of your sovereignty for economic stability?

The unpopular truth is that the only people who can fix Venezuela are Venezuelans.

As a collective, groups get what they deserve. And I feel bad for the individuals in these groups who must suffer the consequences of bad decisions made by leadership, but again, groups get the leadership they deserve.

I feel bad for the people in Seattle who are being robbed by their government and will continue to see their city destroyed by ideologically driven fools who live in a world of theory and win elections because collectively the people have been brainwashed into supporting their own demise in order to resist make-believe boogeymen.

People are sheep, and once the herd is moving together, it is impossible to reason with the individual; they won’t leave the herd until the reality of life or death is presented in no abstract form, causing them to panic and scatter wildly in an attempt to survive.

I feel really bad for the Venezuelans who were forced to flee their homeland because socialism caused its total economic collapse. Americans, just wait; the inevitable downward spiral that almost always follows a turn towards central planning can happen in the U.S. as well. Nowhere is immune to the consequences of incompetence and corruption: the two main features of all leftist governments. If people continue giving power to nepo-baby socialists like Katie Wilson and Zorhan Mamdani, then they’ll too soon decide whether to eat stray pets or not eat at all. To sell their body for sustenance or go hungry with dignity. To flee their home or stay and starve. These are the choices that socialism will bring you. If you have doubts about the reality of socialism, just ask one of the millions of Venezuelan refugees.

There is a lot of hope and optimism but also nervousness about what the future holds. Venezuelans have faced the harsh reality of politics in a way that their neighbors to the north have only ever imagined. It has changed them as a people. They openly and vocally detest socialism, and I don’t think any of the Venezuelans I’ve met would ever support a left-of-center leader again. Let’s hope for the best for them, democracy, stability and peace.

PS

The concern about more of the same in other parts of the continent is justified. And if I were betting, I’d bet that the government of Cuba doesn’t make it until the end of the year. However, talk of coups against Colombia or Mexico is not realistic. The only reason that removing Maduro was even an option is because the people of Venezuela are desperate. As are the Cubans, which is why I’m fairly sure that the U.S. will attempt to depose their leadership too. In the past these things have not turned out well, but Trump is undeniably different from presidents of the recent past. Maybe he can pull off the near impossible and bring about positive change to these peoples that have long been denied freedom and democracy.