Juan Palmar, a 33-year-old Venezuelan originally from Maracaibo, arrived in the U.S. in 2023, leaving behind the economic crisis that pushed the Venezuelan diaspora across the world. The arrest of who until January 2nd was the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, was neither sad nor bitter. It was a source of hope. “It’s a step, but there’s still a lot to be done,” says Palmar, who now lives in Detroit.
In the early hours of Jan. 3, during an attack on Venezuelan soil that left approximately 80 dead, including civilians and military personnel, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by Delta Force agents in an operation that lasted 150 minutes. According to the Cuban government, 32 members of Cuba’s armed forces died in the military incursion. According to the Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Dan Caine, the US intelligence had planned for months.
As explosions thundered in the Caribbean sky, and helicopters and drones deployed by the CIA awakened Venezuelans in Port La Guajira and the capital, Caracas, Operation “Absolute Resolve” became reality on the threats Trump had made against the Chavista dictator since Trump’s first term.
That Saturday night, escorted by dozens of DEA agents, Maduro and Flores landed north of New York City, wearing a sweatshirt, sunglasses, and handcuffed at the hands and feet. “I am still the president of Venezuela,” Maduro told the federal court in the Southern District of New York this Monday.
Maduro and his wife are charged by the Attorney General’s office with narcoterrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of machine guns. “For more than 25 years, the leaders of Venezuela have abused their public offices and corrupted previously legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” begins the document published by the prosecution outlining the charges. The couple pleaded not guilty.
As soon as the news reached the world, reactions from Michigan political leaders were swift. Starting the morning of Jan. 3 , Republicans, including U.S. Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Caledonia, Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, and Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, celebrated the military operation and condemned Venezuela’s now-tottering Chavista regime.
Aric Nesbitt, a Michigan state senator from Porter Township, who is running for governor as a Republican, congratulated Donald Trump on the capture of Maduro. “This is a major win in the war against narco-terrorism,” he wrote in an X post.
On the other hand, political leaders such as U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Senator Gary Peters, and U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, criticized the attacks while condemning the Maduro government.
“Trump’s illegal and unprovoked bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president are serious violations of international law and the U.S. Constitution. The American people do not want another regime change war abroad,” Tlaib wrote on a social media post.
Held aloft in the freezing temperatures, the Venezuelan flag waved in the Hart Plaza and Clark Park; meanwhile, dozens of people gathered around to protest against the military escalation by the United States on Venezuelan soil. In Grand Rapids, dozens of anti-war demonstrators met at Rosa Parks Circle, where they marched against the military escalation.
“The Trump administration has perpetuated countless human rights violations in just 11 months. We have seen students ripped from their families. Our tax dollars continue to fund the Zionist genocide of the Palestinian people, and now starting a new war with Venezuela,” said Jo, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
For Salomón, a Venezuelan computer science student at MSU, the story isn’t so simple. “I understand why they don’t trust Trump, I don’t either, but finally, after 26 years, the socialist regime that repressed and starved my country is over.”
Meanwhile, in Grand Rapids that Saturday afternoon, amidst the snow, several dozen people marched through downtown GR with anti-war signs and chants, and in support of Nicolás Maduro.
“While I was in Venezuela, the US illegally seized a Venezuelan oil tanker heading to Cuba. Not only was this egregious act meant to prolong and increase the suffering of the Cuban people, but it was also meant to instill fear into anyone who dared stand against the most powerful and immoral military complex in the world, said Jessica Plitcha, a Freedom Road Socialist Organization member. After the protest, Plitcha was arrested by GRPD and released hours after.
The capture of Maduro was preceded by the fierce “war on drugs” that Trump launched in mid-2025.
Since September, more than 30 attacks have been carried out by American military forces against small boats near the Venezuelan coast in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean; boats that Trump condemned as being involved in drug trafficking and transporting narcotics. The Republican president also made various accusations of terrorism and fentanyl-related drug trafficking against Nicolás Maduro and his Chavista inner circle. These accusations were questioned by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which stated that neither Venezuela nor Maduro appeared to play a significant role in the trafficking of fentanyl to the United States.
The later capture and confiscation of oil tankers linked to Venezuela by American military forces foreshadowed what was to come.
Neither Corina Machado nor Edmundo González will assume the leadership of Venezuela. “She doesn’t have the respect of the people,” Trump referred to a possible government by Machado. Washington will not only take control of the South American country until a “safe and reliable” transition can be guaranteed, but American oil companies will also enter Venezuela to invest millions of dollars in repairing its oil infrastructure, as Trump affirmed in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
For U.S. Senate candidate for the state of Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, the answer to this entire conflict is Venezuelan oil, which holds one of the largest reserves of heavy oil in the world. “Trump attacked Venezuela to give oil companies a bump in profits. And your healthcare premiums just went up by an average of 10% across the board,” he stated on a social media post.
While the struggle for control of Venezuelan oil has brought American forces to Venezuelan land, sea, and air, Palmar asserts that it’s merely a change of leadership vying for control of this resource. “For 30 years, Chavismo has given away our oil to other countries, and nobody batted an eye. Meanwhile, in Venezuela, the productive system is in ruins,” he says.
“Venezuela needs investment that will improve the lives of Venezuelans.”
Trump has demanded full access to all of Venezuela while simultaneously beginning to threaten other Latin American leaders. Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president, initially declared that Venezuela “is not a colony”; however, on Sunday, she extended an olive branch to Washington.
“We extend an invitation to the U.S. Government to work together on a cooperation agenda, oriented towards shared development, within the framework of international law and that strengthens lasting community coexistence,” she stated on a social media post.
For the moment, despite Rodríguez’s swearing-in as president on Monday, Trump has appointed four individuals to supervise Venezuela: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth; his deputy chief of staff and domestic policy advisor, Stephen Miller; and Vice President J.D. Vance. However, he emphasized that he himself will be ultimately in charge.
Thinking about returning to Venezuela is not an option for Palmar right now, as Maduro’s trial on American soil was only one step in the process. Palmar says that Bolivarian police extort those who return, whether voluntarily or through deportation, along with thousands of dollars to release them. “There is still much to be done in Venezuela. At some point, we all want to return to our countries after having migrated to so many different places, but things haven’t changed completely, and I still have goals to achieve,” Palmar affirms.
Erick Diaz Veliz is a Peruvian reporter based in Lansing, Michigan. He has documented and reported on cultural, social, and political issues in Peru and Michigan as a freelancer. Erick was born in Lima, Peru, and has been living in Lansing since 2018.
This article and photos were made possible thanks to a generous grant to EL CENTRAL Hispanic News by Press Forward, the national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at www.pressforward.news.