The removal of Maduro by the US is not unprecedented. A very similar operation was conducted in Panama in 1989 when dictator (and CIA operative) Manuel Noriega was removed in an almost identical way.
The biggest difference is that the 2026 process was a lot more effective, quick, and less destructive. And Black Sabbath music wasn’t used.
Why people keep reaching for clumsy analogies with Iraq and Afghanistan when there’s a clear and meaningful analogy with an identical operation in the same region, I have no idea.
The results of the Panama incursion can be observed by anybody with two eyes. Or even one eye with astigmatism. For a Central American nation, Panama isn’t doing that badly. And all that was needed was to remove this one asshole. Venezolanos and panameños are largely the same people, so the prospects for Venezuela aren’t terrible if we look at the history of the region and not at something completely different in another part of the world.
And yes, Venezuelans can still fuck it up royally. But they are definitely better off today than at any time since 1999. Nobody is going to give them a perfectly functioning country on a silver platter. It’s now all up to them.
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