President Trump is the master at dramatic attention to detail and encoded messages. He knows good TV. That's why the timing of the weekend Operation Absolute Resolve – during a visit by a delegation of Chinese diplomats – is intriguing.
The skies were "dark; the lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise we have," President Trump noted during a press conference on Saturday. To witness the lights of an entire city going out, followed by the unmistakable sound of the United States' incoming Delta Force, must have inspired more than a bit of fear and trembling. Good thing jet-lagged Chinese diplomats were there to see it!
What was the message for the Chinese? China is not a random foe whose front row seat to the Maduro Disappearing Act, feeling the loin-quaking rotor wash of the 160th SOAR's MH-47G Chinooks, is simply a convenient bonus for us, although that would be enough.
No: China is a firm ally to Venezuela, having propped up Venezuela's floundering socialism in a borderline usurious, imperial arrangement for years in exchange for the latter's fealty and a prominent supply chain role as South American oil outpost. Thick as thieves. China's diplomats played a specific role as witnesses trapped in the Chavez-scented dark as we collected their friend and host, the indicted drug lord Maduro.
Venezuela has sat in the middle of interconnected commerce, military, and contraband activity, binding China, Iran, and Mexico together in various ways, none of which benefit America. Taking one node of a network offline flushes out connections, leaks, and loopholes previously undetected. In the fullness of time, we'll see the complete effects of taking Venezuela "offline." But the second-order immediate impact on China alone makes Operation Absolute Resolve worth it.
The 88-minute operation gave us and the rest of the world a fascinating piece of information: China's air defense systems deployed in Caracas were part of the "lights" we disabled with our "certain expertise." Yes, that's right, China's radars don't work! Or, they succumbed to our Delta Force's will to turn off. How devastating for China's military and engineers. How sobering for the Chinese politicians who were forced into an impromptu live-fire quality audit of the equipment meant to protect them. Does this mean, as Joshua Steinman observed on X, that other Chinese military equipment doesn't work? Free intel is the best intel. Thank you, President Trump!
From the tactical to the strategic: taking control of Venezuela cut off China's access to massive Venezuelan oil, thereby hampering its ability to fuel war machines potentially headed for Taiwan. China has produced increasingly provocative messaging just over the past two weeks, including a full live-fire blockade rehearsal around Taiwan on December 25th and, topically, a "so close, so beautiful, we can be in Taipei any time" military re-fueling propaganda video on December 29th.
J Michael Waller notes that this operation "might have prevented an imminent [Chinese] invasion of [Taiwan]." China surely would've liked to draw us into a disastrous conflict over Taiwan before our recently announced naval upgrades are ready. Those crying "warmonger" over Venezuela cannot fathom the credible threats we've delayed by karate-chopping the Venezuela supply chain.
Finally, we've embraced the Monroe Doctrine: the most effective prophylactic against China's imperial ambitions in our hemisphere. China has issued Venezuela nearly $100B in loans, as well as investing in port construction, oil-drilling rigs, and updated electrical infrastructure, which could never be repaid except for promised future dedicated oil sales to support China's military logistics. What else would you call that than colonization in our backyard?
Worst case scenario, Venezuela is a helpless country that needs to be some other country's dominion to stay in one piece – in which case, why would we cede that arrangement to China rather than deal with it ourselves? Best-case scenario, Venezuela needed to be liberated from temporary hardship so a Bukele or a Milei could rise to the top and help it function independently of China's predatory practices. If so, we did a tremendous service.
To naysayers asking what right we have to kidnap an illegitimate leader, and isn't it selfish of us to place our grubby hands on Venezuela's oil, I direct you to Secretary Rubio's realpolitik answer: why does China need it?
