America’s Rivals Quietly Impressed By US Military After Maduro Capture

In a striking on-air assessment that cut against the network’s usual tone, CNN reported that America’s top global rivals are quietly taking note of the U.S. military’s capabilities following the dramatic capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

During a segment on CNN, senior military analyst James Stavridis argued that while adversaries will loudly condemn the operation in public, the reality behind closed doors is far different.

“All three predictably will deplore this kind of activity publicly,” Stavridis said, referring to Russia, China, and Iran. “Privately, they will be impressed with the military capability here. I would argue none of those three militaries could have executed an operation like this.”

Early Saturday, the Trump administration launched a dramatic U.S. military operation inside Venezuela that resulted in the reported capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Explosions were reported across Caracas as U.S. aircraft and special operations forces carried out what officials described as a highly coordinated, limited-duration mission.

Stavridis underscored the complexity of the operation, calling it “extraordinary.”

“The idea of finding, fixing, kidnapping, taking him out alive with his wife, no casualties on the side of the U.S., that’s an extraordinary military operation,” he said. “While there will be a lot of public condemnation of the United States, predictably from those three nations, privately they’ll be saying to themselves, hmm, that’s a very capable military.”

President Donald Trump later confirmed the operation, framing it as the execution of long-standing U.S. arrest warrants tied to narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges that had remained unenforced for years.

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Stavridis added that this realization is not insignificant on the world stage. “That’s not a bad thought to pop up in Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran these days,” he said.

The operation marks one of the most aggressive foreign actions of President Trump’s presidency and signals a sharp escalation in Washington’s posture toward hostile regimes in the Western Hemisphere. Trump confirmed that Maduro was removed from Venezuela and flown to the United States, where he is now being held as U.S. officials prepare legal proceedings.

International reaction has been swift. Officials in Russia, China, and Iran have already issued statements condemning the U.S. action as reckless and destabilizing. Beyond the immediate shockwaves, Trump has made clear that the United States intends to play a decisive role in shaping Venezuela’s future. In public remarks, the president said Washington will not allow a simple power swap that leaves the country in chaos or under another hostile regime.

Administration officials are now weighing next steps, including potential charges against Maduro and decisions surrounding transitional governance. Trump has framed the operation as a decisive win for U.S. strategic interests, arguing it sends a clear message to adversaries around the world.

The mission involved extensive air and intelligence support followed by a rapid ground raid that extracted Maduro alive with no reported American casualties. Senior military officials stressed the precision of the operation, noting that U.S. forces were able to locate, secure, and remove Maduro from a heavily guarded environment deep inside Venezuelan territory. Analysts have described the operation as one of the most complex direct-action raids conducted by the U.S. military in decades, both for its speed and for its political implications.