What looked like a clean triumph was, in truth, a roll of the dice with history. The capture of Nicolás Maduro became a symbol, not just of American reach, but of how close the mission came to catastrophe. Trump’s own words betrayed the edge: “very dangerous,” “could have gone differently,” the language of a man who knew how thin the line was between success and disaster.Yet it was what came after that was more revealing. Saying the mission must not be “in vain” turned a single operation into a justification for deeper involvement. Talking of making Venezuela “run properly” hinted at a familiar American temptation: to treat another country as a project, not a sovereign nation. With troops still poised, the United States now stands at a hinge point, where the glow of victory can either fade into restraint—or ignite a conflict no one truly intended.
Boots On Foreign Soil Again
