Ricketts Discusses Successful Operation to Capture Nicolas Maduro with Secretary Rubio

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, discussed the successful operation that led to the capture of the illegitimate, narco-terrorist dictator Nicolas Maduro with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

During the hearing, Senator Ricketts called out the hypocrisy of Democrats who once called for the capture of Maduro but now criticize the operation to bring him into custody.

"Some of the comments from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are difficult to square with the record. The goal posts didn't move, nor did Maduro change. The only thing that changed was President Trump acted on what members of both parties said needed to happen," said Senator Ricketts. "The administration did so with an operation that will go down in history as one of the most impressive and tactically proficient to be ever caried out."

Ricketts also pushed back on the narrative that following the successful capture of Nicolas Maduro, Communist China might mirror the United States' operation in its effort to take Taiwan by force.

"One of the common criticisms after Maduro's capture was that this would incentivize Communist China to take similar actions in Taiwan. In my opinion, this couldn't be further from the truth. For starters, Communist China doesn't care about international law or norms. They've demonstrated that repeatedly-just ask the Philippines," said Ricketts. "Xi Jinping's calculus on whether to take kinetic action against Taiwan rests solely on whether or not he believes he will be successful or not. In this sense, the tactical proficiency displayed during Operation Absolute Resolve may have given Xi more pause in taking action in Taiwan… The PLA [People's Liberation Army] continues to lack the experience so clearly on display that the United States demonstrated in Maduro's capture."

Watch the video here.

Background:

Last year, Senator Ricketts met with President-elect Edmundo González in Washington, D.C., where he characterized the struggle in Venezuela as a "battle of freedom versus tyranny." Prior to Operation Absolute Resolve, he consistently advocated for maintaining sanctions and pressure on the Maduro regime. He continues to call for the immediate release of all Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela.