The Trump administration's decision to arrest Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro early Saturday morning could have wide-reaching consequences that Trump is not prepared to deal with, according to one conservative analyst.
On Saturday morning, U.S. Delta Forces arrested Maduro and his wife at the Venezuelan presidential palace. The couple was swiftly flown to the U.S. to be prosecuted on narco-terrorism and gun charges. Trump has also said the U.S. will "run" Venezuela until a new government is formed, and suggested that the leaders of Mexico and Colombia could be arrested next.
Fans of Trump's MAGA movement celebrated the move. Legal experts have debated the administration's legal authority to conduct the operation.
Rick Wilson, a political consultant and co-founder of the never-Trump group The Lincoln Project, wrote in a new Substack essay on Sunday that Maduro's arrest could set up a dangerous future for Venezuela and other countries in the region.
"But here’s the part the MAGA fireworks brigade doesn’t understand: Snatching the bad guy is the easy part," Wilson wrote. "The hard part is what happens next: when the cameras leave, when the speeches fade, and when reality shows up with the butcher’s bill."
"And this is where the danger starts, because the Trump administration is built to win new cycles, not outcomes," he added. "Regime change doesn’t work if you’re not offering something better. And a nation in Trump’s name and image isn’t selling anything that works."