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For decades, Venezuela was held hostage by a regime that never earned democratic legitimacy and instead ruled through repression, corruption, and narcotics trafficking.
Under Nicolás Maduro, the country became a proxy for hostile foreign powers (Russia, China, Iran) and a permissive base for criminal networks (Tren de Aragua) whose violence and fentanyl reached directly into American communities.
Venezuelan Nationalization and Economic Collapse
Venezuela’s history also includes the systematic nationalization and seizure of American and Western companies in the name of Venezuela. Beginning in the mid-2000s and accelerating after 2013, U.S. energy, manufacturing, and agricultural assets were expropriated, contracts voided, and investment capital was driven out under the banner of “social justice.” The result was not equity or growth, but economic collapse and mass poverty. What was once one of the world’s great oil economies became a warning label for state-controlled socialism. Just pure socialism, not the hybrid democrat socialism sweeping the nation.
Human Cost of Bad Government - Exile and Narcotrafficking
The human cost for Venezuela has been staggering. Since roughly 2014, an estimated 7.7 to 8 million Venezuelans have gone into exile, creating one of the largest refugee crises in modern history. People didn’t flee ideology—they fled hunger, violence, and fear. This is an 800 percent increase over the million Cubans that fled to escape Castro.
The consequences of Venezuela’s collapse did not stay overseas. Gangs like Tren de Aragua followed migration routes into American cities, bringing extortion, violence, and fentanyl. From apartment complexes overtaken by gangs to overdose deaths in Connecticut and beyond, Venezuela’s lawlessness was exported here.
Contradictory Celebrations versus Protest
Source Angie Wong - [ [link removed] ]Miami GOP Committeewoman
Watching Venezuelans celebrate around the world this weekend was so powerful. Families who actually lived under the oppressive regime rejoiced at the possibility of freedom and restored democracy. That joy stood in stark contrast to protests in parts of the U.S. and Europe calling for Maduro’s return—demonstrations made up largely of non-Venezuelans. Those who suffered were celebrating.
Angry Protestors Erupt Everywhere
Yet there were many protests with protestors resembling those participants in “NO KINGS” day, yet to get rid of a dictator like Maduro is the removal of an un-elected king who illegitimately came to power.
Those romanticizing the regime were not the ones who paid the price. If you love democracy and don’t like Fentanyl you can’t like Maduro.
Source WFSB [ [link removed] ]
How Does Connecticut Feel About Maduro’s Removal?
That Depends on Who You Ask?
Venezuelan Association of Connecticut reacts to Nicolas Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces.
Here in Connecticut, Venezuelan Association of Connecticut President Clodomiro Falcon was interviewed and stated “There are no legit authorities of government in Venezuela. On July 28, 2024, elections were on, and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was elected president. But Maduro took the government by, I would say, cheating. In my opinion, this is my personal opinion, it was the right move to move forward the restoration of the democracy and life in Venezuela and also to defend the interests of the United States. Because what's happening in Venezuela affects the United States, because it's not only Venezuela, it’s Iran, it's Russia, it’s China.
How About Our Elected Officials?
If You Ask Connecticut’s Congressman Murphy - He claimed it had nothing to do with National Security but Oil and Money - See the exchange between the WH and Murphy below:
See WH Rapid Response Account on X [ [link removed] ]
Congressman Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, faced the nation and said Congress should have authorized any use of military force and called Maduro’s capture as “clearly illegal under international law”
Former Mayor Adams highlights the hypocrisy of the political reactions
That contradiction was captured plainly by Eric Adams. You don’t place a $25 million bounty on a narco-dictator one year and pretend he’s harmless the next because politics changed. Public safety isn’t partisan.
This isn’t diplomacy.
It’s denial.
Fentanyl doesn’t care about party lines.
Cartels don’t respond to talking points.
And history doesn’t lie.
Calling out hypocrisy shouldn’t be controversial—especially when lives are at stake.
The future of Venezuela is unknown, but its chance for a restoration of democracy has increased dramatically with the removal of Maduro.
Dr. Goldstein was in Caracas in 1979 and it was a beautiful city that he called it the Los Angeles of South America. Maybe in a post-Maduro world, it will look like the Miami of South America.

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