Trump ordered the most daring military operation in decades Saturday morning.
U.S. forces stormed Venezuela, grabbed dictator Nicolás Maduro from his compound, and had him in a New York courtroom by Monday facing drug trafficking charges.
And Ron DeSantis just gave Trump credit for Maduro's capture after two days of silence.
Florida Republicans Raced To Praise The Operation
Senator Rick Scott was calling Trump Saturday morning, "ecstatic" about Maduro's capture.¹
Representative Byron Donalds was on social media within hours calling it "Peace Through Strength."²
Even representatives from Georgia were praising the operation before Monday.
The usually outspoken DeSantis stayed off social media all weekend.
Florida's Venezuelan community celebrated in the streets.³
Florida is home to more than 230,000 Venezuelans who fled Maduro's socialist regime.⁴
With the nation's largest Venezuelan population waiting to hear from their Governor, DeSantis broke his silence Monday.
He addressed it at a press conference originally scheduled to discuss immigration enforcement.
https://twitter.com/valuetainment/status/2008560447495303450?s=20
DeSantis Endorses The Operation But Takes A Different Angle
When DeSantis addressed the Maduro capture Monday, he endorsed the Trump administration's action.
He emphasized the Venezuelan community's experience.
"Maduro has been indicted… and so that operation was successful," DeSantis stated.
"He deserves to be brought to justice."⁵
"For many, many years, we've seen the country of Venezuela suffering under the yoke of Marxist ideology, first with Hugo Chávez and then with Nicolás Maduro," DeSantis added.
"We have a big community in South Florida, and you will be hard-pressed to find a reign as destructive as the Chavez-Maduro reign."⁶
The Orlando Sentinel noted DeSantis "didn't give Trump credit" by name.
Instead he focused on the Venezuelan exile community in Florida and the operation's success.⁷
DeSantis also blamed the Biden administration for allowing Maduro to release prisoners from Venezuelan jails who then crossed America's southern border.
The Governor's focus on immigration enforcement makes sense.
He was at "Deportation Depot" in Baker County announcing Operation Tidal Wave had led to more than 10,000 arrests of illegal immigrants in Florida.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2008559983936569523?s=20
DeSantis' Position On Venezuela Has Evolved Since 2019
Here's an interesting shift in DeSantis's thinking about Venezuela.
Back in 2019, DeSantis warned against direct American military involvement in Venezuela.
He said U.S. "boots on the ground" was "probably not the wise course of action."⁸
"Ultimately, this is a matter for the people of Venezuela to seize their destiny," DeSantis said back then.⁹
That was the conventional wisdom among Republicans at the time.
Support Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, apply economic pressure, but don't send troops.
Trump took a different approach Saturday.
He ordered special forces to capture Maduro, brought him to New York in handcuffs, and accomplished what years of sanctions couldn't.
DeSantis has since changed his tune on Venezuela.
More recently, he's said the U.S. has "a right to treat it and engage it as a military threat" when it comes to Venezuelan "narco-terrorists" trafficking drugs into America.¹⁰
His Monday statement endorsing Maduro's capture shows he's now backing the kind of decisive military action he once cautioned against.
That's not flip-flopping.
That's adapting to reality when Maduro kept flooding America with criminals and fentanyl.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2008277707969138795?s=20
The Venezuelan Community Got What They've Been Waiting For
Venezuelan exiles packed the streets of Doral Saturday celebrating Maduro's capture.¹¹
This is what they fled Venezuela to see.
The dictator who destroyed their country is finally facing justice in an American courtroom.
Rick Scott, Byron Donalds, and Marco Rubio all celebrated with the community immediately.
DeSantis joined them Monday with his endorsement.
The timing matters less than the result.
Maduro's in custody, facing decades in prison, and Venezuela has a chance at freedom for the first time in years.
DeSantis used his Monday press conference to connect Maduro's capture to Florida's own immigration enforcement efforts.
"He was releasing people from his prisons and sending them to our southern border under the Biden administration," DeSantis explained.¹²
That's the angle Florida cares about.
https://twitter.com/ReOpenChris/status/2008208383837426055?s=20
Maduro wasn't just oppressing Venezuelans at home.
He was emptying his prisons and shipping criminals to America's border.
Trump stopped that Saturday night.
And Florida's Governor endorsed it Monday.
Trump Just Changed The Rules On Foreign Policy
DeSantis waited two days to comment, but the delay doesn't change what happened Saturday.
Trump achieved what Biden couldn't in four years and what conventional Republicans said was impossible.
No sanctions.
No negotiations.
No waiting for the Venezuelan people to "seize their destiny."
Trump sent in special forces, grabbed a narco-terrorist dictator, and had him in federal court by Monday morning.
That's the kind of bold, decisive action that gets results.
DeSantis endorsed it Monday, even if he took his time getting there.
Other Republicans jumped on board immediately.
The whole party is celebrating Trump's win.
And they should be.
This operation proves that America can still project power when we have leadership willing to act.
Maduro spent years thinking he was untouchable.
He trafficked drugs, emptied his prisons into America, and destroyed Venezuela while Biden did nothing.
Trump ended that Saturday night.
DeSantis recognized it Monday.
Florida's Venezuelan community celebrated it all weekend.
And the message to every other dictator trafficking drugs into America is clear: you're next.
¹ Staff, "Senator Rick Scott says he was 'ecstatic' over U.S. arrest of Nicolás Maduro," WFLX, January 5, 2026.
² Donalds, Byron, Post on X, January 3, 2026.
³ Gancarski, A.G., "Better late than never: Ron DeSantis breaks silence on Nicolás Maduro," Florida Politics, January 5, 2026.
⁴ Shanley, Garrett, "DeSantis makes his first public remarks about arrest of Venezuela's Maduro," Tampa Bay Times, January 5, 2026.
⁵ Schweers, Jeffrey, "DeSantis breaks silence on Maduro's capture, arrest and indictment," Orlando Sentinel, January 5, 2026.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Gancarski, A.G., "Better late than never: Ron DeSantis breaks silence on Nicolás Maduro," Florida Politics, January 5, 2026.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Hill Staff, "Florida Republicans laud Trump over Maduro capture," The Hill, January 3, 2026.
¹² Schweers, Jeffrey, "DeSantis breaks silence on Maduro's capture, arrest and indictment," Orlando Sentinel, January 5, 2026.
