MIKE PENCE: Venezuela has a chance for freedom, thanks to Trump and our armed forces

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For years, the people of Venezuela have endured a nightmare imposed by socialist tyranny.Under President Nicolás Maduro, a once-prosperous nation was reduced to deprivation, violence and despair.Families went hungry.Hospitals ran out of medicine.Millions fled their homes.Venezuela became a case study in how socialism destroys everything it touches.

That dark chapter has come to an end.

I have always believed that Maduro must go, and will always be proud of the Trump-Pence administration’s work on Venezuela.Together, we led the charge against Maduro, building an unprecedented coalition of over 60 nations and forging bipartisan consensus in Congress to recognize the illegitimacy of the dictator’s power.

We froze regime assets so they could not use the funds to empower their human rights abuses, while providing nearly $1 billion in aid for the Venezuelan people.For the first time since Sept.11, 2001, we invoked the Western Hemisphere’s version of a mutual defense pact to show our commitment to Venezuelan security and freedom.

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Venezuelans in Chile celebrate the capture of President Nicolas Maduro

Venezuelans celebrate in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, Jan.3, 2026, after President Donald Trump announced that President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of Venezuela.(Esteban Felix/AP Photo)

While we ultimately fell short of our goal to free the people of Venezuela, I was heartened when the president orderedthe military raid that captured Maduroand brought him to face justice in the United States.

Thanks to the leadership of PresidentDonald Trumpand the professionalism of the United States armed forces, Maduro is gone.His grip on Venezuela has been broken, and a long-suffering people now have a historic opportunity to reclaim their freedom and rebuild their nation.

For years, the United States rightly recognized that Maduro was a dictator with no legitimate claim to rule.He stole elections, jailed political opponents, silenced the free press and turned the machinery of government into a criminal enterprise.Trump deserves the gratitude of all who cherish freedom for taking bold and historic action to end this socialist catastrophe.

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No free people knowingly trades prosperity for poverty.Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, forced that decision on Venezuela — replacing free markets with centralized control,seizing the oil industry, commandeering electricity and telecommunications, and crushing private enterprise.The results were as predictable as they were devastating: food shortages, rolling blackouts, massive inflation and the collapse of civil society.

I witnessed the toll of this tyranny firsthand during a visit to the Venezuelan border in 2019.I met displaced families who had fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs.Their heartbreaking stories left no doubt that Maduro’s regime was not merely incompetent, but profoundly cruel.

That cruelty spilled across Venezuela’s borders and spread misery throughout the Western Hemisphere.Millions fled the country, triggering one of the largest refugee crises in modern history.Many eventually made their way to the United States, some illegally and others by exploiting a broken asylum system.

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At the same time, Maduro’s regime became deeply entangled in international drug trafficking, flooding American communities with poison and destroying countless lives.Even the Biden administration acknowledged the criminal nature of Maduro’s rule, placing a multimillion-dollarbounty on his capturefor narco-terrorism and corruption.

Maduro also invited America’s adversaries into our own hemisphere.Russia, Iran, Cuba and communist China expanded their influence under his protection, turning Venezuela into a platform for hostile powers operating dangerously close to our shores — a clear and present national security threat to the United States.

Trump deserves the gratitude of all who cherish freedom for taking bold and historic action to end this socialist catastrophe.

The progressive left and some on the populist right havecriticized Trump’s decisionto move forward with absolute resolve in bringing Maduro to justice.The Constitution, however, vests the president with broad authority as commander-in-chief to take limited but decisive action to protect our nation, and he has an obligation to faithfully execute our nation’s laws, including the criminal laws that Maduro stands accused of breaking.Presidents of both parties have exercised these authorities for generations.To deny them now would dangerously weaken future presidents and place America at greater risk.

Nicolás Maduro must answer for his crimes.He must answer for the corruption that hollowed out a nation, for the violence that muzzled dissent, and for the drug trade that took the lives of countless American citizens.Justice long delayed will finally be served.

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The Venezuelan people now stand at the threshold of a remarkable opportunity.They deserve a rebirth of freedom — a new Venezuela governed by Venezuelans, rooted in the recognition of God-given liberties, committed to free markets and sustained by free and fair elections.They deserve a future defined not by fear but by hope.

Today, thanks to President Trump and the brave men and women of our armed forces, that future is within reach.Libertad can finally be restored.And as freedom takes root again in Venezuela, it will strengthen security and prosperity across our entire hemisphere — just as America has always stood ready to do.

Mike Pence is the former vice president of the United States and founder of Advancing American Freedom.