The political class and liberal media commentators are once again rushing to outrage, this time over President Donald Trump’s decisive action involving the arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro. They call it escalation. They call it reckless. They call it unprecedented. They are wrong. What occurred was not an act of war. It was justice.
For years, the Maduro regime has pretended to act like a government but was nothing more than a criminal enterprise. Federal indictments and intelligence assessments have long made the case that Maduro and his inner circle were trafficking narcotics, laundering money, and conspiring with transnational criminal and terrorist organizations. These are not abstract accusations. The deadly drugs trafficked under his watch have poisoned American communities, overwhelmed our law enforcement, and killed countless U.S. citizens.
When a foreign leader is accused of directing or enabling criminal conduct that targets the United States, that individual does not enjoy immunity from accountability simply because he hides behind the title of “president.”
Under Article II of the United States Constitution, the President is vested with the authority and responsibility to protect the nation and defend American lives. That authority does not begin at our shoreline, and it does not require waiting until criminal networks complete their mission and the body count rises at home.
Clearly, capturing Maduro was not about regime change for President Trump.
For years, I have supported lawful, targeted actions to disrupt narcoterrorist operations before they reach the United States. Dismantling criminal networks at their source and holding their corrupt leaders accountable are not acts of aggression. They are acts of prevention. They save lives. They support our law enforcement. They protect our borders.
Treating Maduro now as untouchable because he cloaked himself in political power sets a dangerous precedent. It would send a dangerous signal to every other narco-dictator in the world that they can get away with trafficking poison into our country with impunity.
That is not how the rule of law works.
No individual, no matter how powerful they are, is above accountability when they engage in criminal conduct that threatens American lives and our national security.
The law clearly shows that President Trump acted within his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief. Our President acted decisively and lawfully with the safety of the American people as his guiding principle. That is what strong leadership looks like.
With President Trump in office, the United States will not tolerate criminal regimes that export death, destabilize our hemisphere, and believe distance or political status shields them from justice.
This moment should serve as a clear message to Americans who are tired of watching Washington hesitate while families bury loved ones lost to fentanyl, cartel violence, and organized crime. National security is not an abstract concept. It is measured by lives saved or lost, neighborhoods protected or destroyed, and whether leaders act before tragedy strikes. For too long, weak leadership has treated foreign criminal groups as diplomatic issues instead of real threats. That failure has repercussions.
President Trump’s action shows a return to clarity, deterrence, and moral seriousness. Criminal leaders who bring death into our communities should face consequences, not press conferences or empty statements. Accountability does not lead to instability. Lawlessness does. Justice is not provocative; impunity is. When the United States enforces the rule of law outside its borders, it strengthens it at home. That principle has guided our nation in the past, and it must guide us now.
Alan Wilson is South Carolina’s Attorney General, serving since 2011. A career prosecutor and combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Wilson has spent his career fighting violent crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and government overreach while defending the rule of law and the Constitution.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public/Eneas De Troya from Mexico City, México)
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