Well, that’s certainly one way to ring in the new year. Operation Midnight Hammer put former Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro in iron shackles in Manhattan. Venezuela has now entered a new era of instability unseen in decades. Whatever comes next for Venezuela, it is clear that the United States will have a large role to play for years to come. Whether that be more direct or indirect, remains to be seen.

Right now, lots of plans are being circulated for what the plan should be for Venezuela. In this article, I hope to pitch my plan. I also want to specifically gear this plan towards President Donald Trump—what we know he cares about and acts on—and therefore what is a realistic, workable plan within the Trump philosophy.

With that said, President Donald Trump, this is for you. 

First, I believe congratulations are in order. You have just taken decisive action to remove Nicholas Maduro, a mass murderer, from power. His reign of terror is finally over, and the hammer will no doubt fall quickly and with an unmatchable rage. Previous US administrations were under the mistaken assumption that Maduro could be removed through sanctions, international cooperation through the UN or ICC, and strongly-worded letters. 

Their assumption is wrong. The ICC has watched on as they mint enough papers on Mauduro’s brutality to fill a shipping container, on the brutality of Mauduro, never acting, never doing anything. Because of the unworkability of the ICC and other international organizations. Your liberal opponents don’t like to admit it, but the world works through power, leverage, and force. You had a goal that many have had in mind,d but few have come close to accomplishing. And you just accomplished it. Congratulations.

What comes next is a delicate tightrope, a situation that has the possibility to spiral out of control at any moment. I would urge caution and moderation when deciding what to do next.

You have made clear that you support keeping Maduro’s second in command, Delcy Rodriguez, in charge of the country during this proposed “transition.” Perhaps this is different from the decision I would have made, but I respect it nonetheless as one that is realistic and grounded in a sober analysis of the situation on the ground.

It is crucial to remember that Delcy Rodriguez now works for the United States and not the former Maduro regime. You need to meld and mold her through pressure to achieve crucial US aims in Venezuela and abroad.

Now let’s get to some of those aims. You have made it clear that restarting Venezuela’s oil industry is a top priority of yours. That is a valid concern for the United States, and one I believe you should continue to put your attention towards. Here’s how you should do that.

First, continue destroying the Venezuelan shadow fleet. Continue blockading the country. This will put pressure on Rodriguez to let US companies come in and “get the oil!” as I know you’re fond of saying. Such a strategy will prevent agents of terror like Russia and China from gaining access to Venezuelan oil, while also paving the way for the United States to access oil that until now has sat in the hands of our adversaries. The oil market has trended upward in light of your operation, which is likely to keep up if you continue with your approach.

The swift cutting off of the shadow fleet will likely create an abundance of smugglers with no place to go. That void will probably be filled by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, with the intent of circumventing sanctions by selling Russian oil overseas. To counter this, I suggest continuing CIA intelligence-sharing and location-selecting in support of Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries. 

Now, let’s look back at America. The Senate has just passed a motion to begin debate on a motion to invoke the War Powers Act to halt the administration’s actions in Venezuela. Several, no doubt to you, very bad Republicans joined Democrats in voting for this motion. Whether this motion will pass the House remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Congress is opposed to any long-term “boots on the ground” operation in Venezuela.

Alongside you, I personally  believe the War Powers Act to be unconstitutional. That has been the precedent from Bush-Obama to you. Still, Congress will likely permit smaller-scale actions, missions like the one that deposed Maduro. 

With all of this in mind, these quick, targeted bombings and SEALteam missions should be the norm during this plan. You should box the regime, leaving them to starve and collapse, giving way to a Democratic transition. Don’t give Rodrogiuz regime any lifeline. Don’t let them stabilize. Don’t try to do regime change by escorting the opposition leader into Caracas alongside Marnies. That will only make the new regime look illegitimate.

You have cut off the snake’s head. Now let it bleed.

Oh, and while I have your attention. Don’t listen to J.D Vance. Don’t listen to Steve Witkoff. Listen to Marco Rubio more. The Ukrainians are our friends. So are the British & French. The Russians are not. Re-hire Keith Kellogg.

From Ohas Upadhyay

Thank You, Donald Trump.

So that’s my letter. Of course, this is probably not what Trump will do. This assumes that Trump listens and takes in advice. Such is not the case. Donald Trump is a megalomaniac run amok, whose blatant narcissism informs everything he does. He will do whatever he wants, what he likes, what he wants to “be great.” Appealing to logic in diologue with him is futile. We are not dealing with a normal US president. We are dealing with a authortarian

It’s a fun thought experiment, though.

Addendum

I thought that, given the fast-moving nature of politics already in this new year, I would start my first article of 2026 with an addendum and continue it on to my articles for the rest of the year. This addendum will focus on current events and other timely subjects that don’t fit into the main article I choose to write every month.

Most pressing of all, this month, is the shocking and senseless killing of Rene Good and Alex Peretti at the hands of ICE.

Already, we are seeing people tripping over themselves to justify this. It is unjustifiable. Look at that video: the ICE agents shoot them when they had there backs away and posed no threat. Their killers still wear the uniform.

I think the pressing comparison here would be to the SA of early Nazi Germany. Donald Trump has commissioned a force of people who can be deployed to brutalize his political opponents. ICE violence is sporadic, with a single thread of targeting protesters and immigrants alike. This is the first step. If he can get us to overlook violence, he can continue to choke our democratic process.

So we can’t let him. We need to take to the streets. Protest. Say their names. Shut this country down, and get out at the ballot box in 2026. Our nation depends on it.