The photo circulating on Truth Social today – Nicolás Maduro, leader of Venezuela, handcuffed and aboard the USS Iwo Jima – is not just a viral moment. It is the final scene of a ten-year geopolitical thriller.
While the media focuses on the dramatic raid by U.S. forces yesterday, the real story is the machinery that made it possible. This was not a partisan impulse. It was a bipartisan relay race.
For a decade, Democratic administrations built the legal and financial “cage” around Maduro, and Republican administrations tightened the screws until there was nowhere left to run.
Here is the undeniable timeline of how both sides of the aisle collaborated to deliver this outcome.
Phase 1: The Legal Foundation (Obama Era) March 9, 2015
The tool used to justify yesterday’s operation was forged by President Barack Obama.
- The Move: Issuance of Executive Order 13692.
- The Impact: This order declared a “national emergency” regarding Venezuela, legally classifying the Maduro regime as an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security” of the U.S.
- The Strategy: Obama defined the enemy. Without this initial legal framework, no future President would have had the authority to seize assets or deploy such aggressive resources.
Phase 2: The Criminalization (Trump Era, Term 1)
March 26, 2020
Donald Trump shifted the strategy from diplomatic pressure to criminal prosecution. He took Obama’s “threat” designation and gave it a price tag.- The Move: The DOJ unsealed indictments charging Maduro with narco-terrorism.
- The Impact: This stripped Maduro of his legitimacy as a Head of State in the eyes of U.S. law, treating him instead as a cartel boss.
- The Price: The initial bounty was set at $15 million.
Phase 3: The Escalation (Biden Era)
January 10, 2025
Contrary to the “soft on dictators” narrative, the Biden Administration utilized the post-election chaos of 2024 to back Maduro into a corner.- The Move: Following Maduro’s fraudulent 2024 re-election, the Biden State Department announced a massive increase in the Narcotics Rewards Program.
- The Price: The bounty was raised to $25 million.
- The Strategy: By raising the stakes just before leaving office, Democrats signaled that the window for negotiation was permanently closed, handing the incoming Trump administration a “ready-to-strike” target.
Phase 4: The Designation (Trump Era, Term 2)
August 7, 2025
Back in the White House, Trump removed the final guardrails. - The Move: The administration designated the Maduro-led “Cartel of the Suns” as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization.
- The Price: The reward was doubled to a world-record $50 million.
- The Signal: This was the warning shot. The U.S. was no longer looking for a diplomatic exit; they were looking for a high-value target.
Phase 5: The Execution (The Finale)
January 3, 2026
The trap snapped shut.- The Event: In a midnight operation, U.S. forces executed the warrant that had been ten years in the making.
- The Proof: As confirmed by President Trump on Truth Social, Nicolás Maduro is now in U.S. custody aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
The Verdict
The narrative that foreign policy whipsaws with every election is false.- Obama built the court.
- Biden raised the bail.
- Trump made the arrest.
The agenda never changed, only the intensity did. And yesterday, the United States finished what it started in 2015.
