Smith Says Maduro Raid Won’t Slow U.S. Drug Trafficking

ADAM SMITH

Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said Sunday he doesn’t believe the dramatic U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro will significantly change the scale of drug trafficking in America.

Asked on NewsNation whether the U.S. is safer with Maduro gone, Smith replied bluntly: “No, I don’t.” He acknowledged Maduro’s ties to narcotics but said the drug cartels driving the crisis remain untouched.

“Maduro was certainly part of the drug problem, but the cartels didn’t go anywhere,” Smith said. “I don’t think it fundamentally changed drug trafficking in America at all.”

Maduro and his wife were seized in a covert overnight raid and flown to New York to face charges linked to narcotics, terrorism and firearms. He is now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The mission — months in planning — followed repeated U.S. strikes on suspected narco-terrorist assets.

Smith also raised alarms about what comes next in Venezuela. While agreeing Maduro was not a legitimate democratic leader, he said the Trump administration appears to have no clear plan for the aftermath — warning the move amounts to a U.S.-driven regime change operation.

“They took out Maduro. They don’t know what comes next,” Smith said. “We don’t want this to turn into chaos. And yet, we removed the leader of the country.”

Key Takeaways

• Drug war unchanged: Smith says Maduro’s capture won’t meaningfully reduce narcotics flowing into the U.S. because the cartels remain intact.

• Regime-change concerns: He warns the administration removed Venezuela’s leader without a credible plan for the transition.

• High-stakes mission: The U.S. says Maduro will face justice — critics fear geopolitical fallout and instability.

Source: THE HILL

Of course!

Venezuela is a relatively minor cocain producer and its production is usually sent to Europe, not to the US! 😄