There’s something wrong with the Venezuela story. Officials claim 80 people died in the Maduro capture operation. Only one body has been verified—a civilian woman killed when a strike hit her apartment building in Catia La Mar.
Where are the other 79?
Venezuelan and Cuban officials claim 32 Cuban military guards died defending Maduro in “fierce resistance” at Fort Tiuna. There’s no combat footage. No bodies on camera. No video of 32 guards dying in a firefight. In 2026, in an urban environment where everyone has a smartphone, a massive military battle producing 80 combat deaths yields one verified civilian casualty from collateral damage.
The infrastructure strikes were real. Fort Tiuna fires, La Carlota air defense destroyed, airport craters, communications towers burning—all verified by CNN, AP, Reuters. But military analysts describe the resistance as “fragmented, short-lived” and “quickly neutralized.” Trump says Maduro “gave up immediately, raised his hands.” Zero American casualties despite a “fortress-like” compound.
Then there are the selfies. Maduro in handcuffs, double thumbs up, smiling. Greeted agents with “Happy New Year,” sources say he “appeared calm, joking with agents.” This is not what a captured enemy looks like.
The deal was proposed six years ago. Fiona Hill testified to Congress in 2019 that Russia had floated a “strange swap arrangement between Venezuela and Ukraine.” That deal just executed. Venezuela sacrifices Maduro. Delcy Rodriguez takes power. Cuba maintains its intelligence operation. Russia gets Ukraine. China keeps its 600,000 barrels per day. Trump gets oil and declares victory.
The theater collapsed under Trump’s threat. Mark Warner, vice chair of Senate Intelligence, revealed Congress was briefed on regime change for democracy—not regime preservation. Warner made clear: “There was no conversation about the vice president being a viable figure.” Trump rejected María Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning democratic opposition leader Venezuela actually voted for.
Trump immediately started talking about oil: “Large US oil companies go in, spend billions, fix infrastructure, start making money.” Devin Nunes and Blue Water Acquisition Corp are positioning for CITGO profits. Paul Singer’s Elliott Management won the $5.9 billion CITGO auction in November—the only government that could block that sale was Maduro’s, removed January 3.
So why the massive military operation if this was coordinated? Why 150 aircraft, explosions across Caracas, perp walks, endless cable news coverage if they could have just arrested him quietly?
Because the spectacle is the point.
This operation dominated every news cycle for four days. Every cable network. Every front page. You know what disappeared? The Epstein files. Pam Bondi’s refusal to release them. Articles of contempt Congress was preparing to file. The systematic coverup of what happened to those girls. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation over Trump’s threats to expose her if she kept pushing for release. The FBI’s destruction of January 6 evidence—1,500+ case files deleted, “Most Wanted” site taken offline, 40 prosecutors fired.
All of it—gone from the conversation, replaced by helicopter footage and Maduro’s thumbs up.
The military operation wasn’t about removing Maduro. It was about removing attention from the files that actually threaten Trump.
Eighty people claimed dead. One verified body. And the real story buried under the rubble of a coordinated distraction.
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