The Capture of Maduro: A Brazen Act of Western Hemispheric Hegemony

The Facts of the Case

The recent capture and criminal indictment of Venezuelan head of state Nicolás Maduro by United States authorities represents a significant escalation in Washington’s long-standing campaign against the Venezuelan government. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in comments to CBS’s Face the Nation, explicitly differentiated this operation from previous US regime-change operations in the Middle East, stating: “This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western Hemisphere.” Rubio further emphasized that Venezuela can “no longer cozy up to Hezbollah and Iran in our own hemisphere,” revealing the geopolitical underpinnings of this action.

The operation against Maduro occurs within a specific context of US-Iran relations, with President Donald Trump weighing “very strong” options against Tehran as demonstrations there escalated. The capture of Maduro potentially impacts Tehran’s interests and operations abroad, particularly given Venezuela’s role as a foothold for Iran and its proxies in the Western Hemisphere.

Historical Context: The Venezuela-Iran Relationship

The relationship between Venezuela and Iran has deepened significantly over the past two decades, particularly during the presidency of Hugo Chávez from 1999 until his death in 2013. Both nations are founding members of OPEC and have maintained relations since before the 1979 Iranian revolution. Under Chávez, the relationship intensified dramatically, with the two countries signing an estimated three hundred agreements covering various sectors from low-income housing to cement plants and car factories.

By 2012, Iran’s investments and loans in Venezuela were valued at approximately $15 billion. The relationship extended beyond diplomatic and economic cooperation to include gold smuggling, with Venezuela—holding the largest gold reserves in Latin America—reportedly smuggling gold to Iran as payment for assistance in reviving Venezuela’s oil sector.

The Strategic Dimension: Hezbollah and Iranian Influence

Within this context of strengthened Venezuela-Iran relations, Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its affiliates have established Venezuela as a strategic hub in the Western Hemisphere. The country has served as a sanctuary for Hezbollah to evade sanctions, a center for operations and money laundering, and a base for its transnational criminal and drug trafficking network.

Hezbollah has established itself within business networks in locations such as Margarita Island and the Paraguaná Peninsula, both with coastal access and significant Lebanese diaspora communities. Iran has also used Venezuela’s gold market to finance Hezbollah’s operations, with a 2022 seizure order exposing a smuggling ring involving gold transported on sanctioned Iranian flights with proceeds directed to Hezbollah.

Iran’s Quds Force, the external arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, maintains a robust presence in Venezuela to support Maduro. The hierarchical structure is headed by Ahmad Asadzadeh Goljahi, who oversees operations and heads subunits linked to international terrorist plots and overseas assassinations.

The US Legal and Strategic Justification

The Trump administration has framed Maduro’s capture as a law-enforcement operation rather than a military campaign, relying on longstanding criminal indictments and sanctions authorities. Maduro has been under US indictment since March 26, 2020, for narcotics trafficking and narco-terrorism, and has been subject to comprehensive Treasury sanctions.

Analysts like Kirsten Fontenrose suggest that the Maduro case serves less as a template for future actions than as a signal of US willingness to act decisively against leaders already criminalized and sanctioned. This approach aligns with the policy orientation of figures such as Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, who has emphasized coercive clarity, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who has advocated transactional diplomacy backed by leverage.

A Critical Perspective: Western Imperialism Unmasked

From the perspective of the Global South, particularly civilizational states like India and China that view international relations through a different lens than the Westphalian nation-state system, the capture of Maduro represents nothing less than a brazen act of neo-colonial aggression. The United States, acting as self-appointed global policeman, has once again demonstrated its willingness to violate international norms and the sovereignty of nations that dare to challenge its hegemony or pursue independent foreign policies.

Marco Rubio’s distinction between operations in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere is particularly revealing. It suggests that the United States claims special rights of intervention in what it considers its backyard—a throwback to the Monroe Doctrine and the era of gunboat diplomacy when powerful Western nations dictated terms to weaker states. This arrogant assertion of hemispheric dominance is exactly the kind of imperial thinking that the Global South has struggled against for decades.

The Hypocrisy of Selective Enforcement

The US justification based on “law enforcement” rings hollow when examined against the backdrop of America’s selective application of international law. Where was this commitment to law enforcement when US allies committed atrocities in Yemen? Where is the concern for narco-terrorism when considering America’s own role in the global drug trade or its history of supporting drug-running contra rebels in Nicaragua?

The targeting of Maduro follows a familiar pattern: first, the target nation is subjected to crippling economic sanctions that devastate its economy and cause immense suffering among its population. Then, when the government seeks alternative partnerships to survive these illegal coercive measures, it is accused of collaborating with “rogue states” or “terrorist organizations.” Finally, when the targeted government is sufficiently weakened, the United States moves in for the kill—whether through direct intervention, regime change operations, or, as in this case, the extraordinary rendition of a sitting head of state.

The Resistance Axis and Multipolarity

The Venezuela-Iran relationship represents exactly the kind of South-South cooperation that threatens Western dominance of the global order. Both nations are subject to illegal unilateral sanctions regimes designed to cripple their economies and force political submission. Their cooperation in energy, finance, and technology represents a legitimate effort to bypass the US-dominated financial system and exercise their sovereign right to independent development.

The United States characterizes this as a “resistance axis” because it resists US hegemony. From the perspective of the Global South, however, this represents the emerging multipolar world order—one in which nations have the freedom to pursue their own development paths and form alliances based on mutual interest rather than submission to a unipolar power structure.

The Human Cost of Economic Warfare

While Western media focuses on Venezuela’s economic struggles, they consistently fail to acknowledge that these difficulties are largely the result of illegal US sanctions designed to make the economy scream and force regime change. The same pattern is visible in Iran, Cuba, and other nations that refuse to bow to US demands. The human cost of these economic warfare strategies is immense—medicine shortages, food insecurity, and increased mortality—all inflicted on civilian populations to achieve political objectives.

Conclusion: The Global South Must Stand United

The capture of Nicolás Maduro should serve as a wake-up call to all nations of the Global South. Today it is Venezuela; tomorrow it could be any nation that pursues independent policies or challenges Western dominance. The selective application of international law, the use of economic warfare, and the willingness to directly target heads of state—all these tactics reveal the true nature of the current international order.

Civilizational states like India and China, with their different philosophical approaches to international relations, must lead the way in developing alternative frameworks that respect sovereignty and reject hegemonic domination. The nations of the Global South must strengthen their cooperation and develop independent financial and security architectures that cannot be weaponized against them.

The struggle against imperialism and colonialism continues in new forms. The capture of Maduro is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of behavior that must be confronted collectively. Only through unity and the courageous defense of sovereignty can the nations of the Global South secure their rightful place in a truly multipolar world order free from neo-colonial domination.