Sucks.
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2026
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Honestly, not sure nukes would've helped in this case. They did a special forces raid that clearly had significant help from the inside. Only the Cuban special forces resisted the invasion.
If you have traitors helping the imperialist, they'd just seize control of the nukes or would've disconnect Maduro from being able to launch them.
Remaining forces that aren't in on it could in theory still launch the nukes after such a coup attempt.
I think you're right, that could be deterrence. However, if you're at the point where nearly all of your head of state's security forces are compromised, you're at a point where you could probably compromise the nuclear operators too.
My main point is that technological systems and powerful weapons do not automatically overcome or safeguard the human element.
Edit: Maduro would still be in Venezuela if the human element in his security were strong, even without nukes. And he might be in a US dungeon if the human element were weak, even if he had nukes.
this is just not true at all. Venezuelans died in that raid and there is not a shred of evidence that there was any inside help. it has been almost 11 months since the raid and the masses and PSUV have remained unified. are you suggesting that the entire Venezuelan left was in on this?
Enough was in on it where the US could succeed at this otherwise highly risky operation
Edit: https://www.aninews.in/news/world/us/history-will-tell-who-the-traitors-were-says-nicolas-maduros-son-after-his-fathers-us-capture20260105090430/
that article is from 2 days after it happened. he is still in government working with Delcy and the rest of the people, almost a year later. None of them have come out with any accusations. Caracas is on the coast and within range of many US bases. It was "risky" in the way that any military operation was, but it's not like Maduro was in hiding. the US had everything they need to pull something like this off, even if it was risky.
History will tell. Either way the human element was the failure point. Getting nukes is good, but nukes would not guarantee safety
I would argue that the failure point has to do with the material conditions of Venezuela, and had little to to with the humans involved in the moment of the kidnapping.
Venezuela is incredibly close to the US. We have seen what the US can do to a nation on the other side of the planet, but we haven't seen the US directly attacking within their sphere of influence in a long time.
Venezuelan leadership has been watching what the US is doing in Iran, and has done in other places, and weighing that destruction against "fighting back," any competent leader would prefer to avoid your nation being firebombed daily, especially after decades of sanctions. Their infrastructure, electrical grid, sewage systems, water treatment, medical system, and domestic extraction ability have all been ground to a snail's pace even before the abduction of Maduro. Getting bombed to shit by planes that can nearly endlessly refuel and rearm is not going to suddenly make you more able to fight back against aircraft. Venezuela was not able to create a military that can withstand the US before this year, so assuming they suddenly would be able to if they just "resisted," is pretty unsound and illogical. Choosing the path of definite bloodshed and mass destruction is not strategic, revolutionary, or anti-imperialist.
There has never been a point where Venezuela could resist US influence, which is why the sanctions have utterly broken the nation and now they are easy to extort. It doesn't mean they are traitors, it means they literally have no options and it's better to hand over the wallet and live another day than to demand your own death. This isn't a movie, these are real people's lives we have to consider.
And just eat a few nukes if that goes wrong?