Gen. Jack Keane on Venezuela: US Strategy Post-Maduro Capture

Operation Absolute Resolve

• 🚀 The capture of Nicolás Maduro was the result of Operation Absolute Resolve, a discreet and precise operation planned over months.
• 🎯 It involved over 150 aircraft coordinated across the Western Hemisphere to achieve tactical surprise in downtown Caracas.
• 📍 Maduro was apprehended at a military complex known as Fuerta Tuna, where he had been taking cover.

US Strategy and Leverage

• 🔑 The Trump administration's strategy is to work with the current Maduro government rather than attempt to depose it militarily.
• ⚖️ The US possesses significant leverage, including the option to have taken down Maduro's compound, to influence the government's direction.
• 🤝 The administration believes they can work with the current leadership, including the Vice President, to shut down narco-trafficking and dismantle repressive Colombian gangs and paramilitary militias.

Challenges and Future Outlook

• ⚠️ The Venezuelan people are not celebrating Maduro's removal due to fear, as the "goons and thugs" remain in charge.
• 🏛️ The objective is to move towards a democratic form of government, leveraging Venezuela's existing democratic structures like the Supreme Court and National Assembly.
• ⏳ The administration aims for stability before moving towards elections, acknowledging that immediate action may not be feasible.
• 💡 Leverage includes potential amnesty and exile for cooperation, with an "or else" option if cooperation fails.

Key Figures and Communication

• 🗣️ Deli Rodriguez, the interim leader and Vice President, has extended an invitation to the US for a cooperation agenda.
• 📞 Conversations are crucial with other key figures, including the Minister of Defense (Padrino) and Minister of Interior (Cabela), who control significant power and have been involved in repression and narco-trafficking.
• 📢 The US is communicating its objectives clearly: moving towards democratic elections and warning against interference or the use of goons against the people.