In the Our Take of our February issue, “Venezuela, Trump and the end of ‘Pax Americana’,” America’s editors evaluated the second Trump administration’s abandonment of the rules-based international order in the context of the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, then the president of Venezuela. The editors suggested that the new “ethos of naked self-interest” will render the world less stable and less cooperative and the United States less secure. “If nothing else,” the editors wrote, “we can be sure that U.S. actions today will have long-term consequences unforeseen by the current administration.”

Our readers had much to say in response.

An evil man has been brought to justice. This is cause for commendation, not condemnation. Be glad. I’m wondering what a political prisoner, who is sitting—unjustly—in a Venezuelan jail, would say if he/she read this editorial?
Greg Murra

Are we supposed to mourn Mr. Maduro’s ouster? Is this bad news? I don’t think so. This past weekend I attended the Sunday vigil Mass at my parish. A woman I regularly greet waited for me after Mass. Her face was shining with joy. She was ecstatic at the news that Venezuela was free of Mr. Maduro. It turns out her father was a geologist in Venezuela and met her mother there. She recalled her nation with such love and fondness. The removal of a brutal and oppressive 25-year dictatorship (her words) is something Catholics should celebrate. This isn’t the time for partisanship or nitpicking. The fall of Mr. Maduro is good news.

Sure, there will be challenges ahead for Venezuela, but that’s to be expected. Don’t expect a robust democratic republic by next week. Let’s take a moment to thank God that a brutal, anti-Catholic and oppressive dictatorship has fallen—this is a rare thing. May more fall and may more people experience the joys of freedom.
Amy Chapmann

Mr. Maduro’s removal is certainly good news for Venezuelans who suffered under his rule. But his corrupt administration remains at the helm. Why would anybody expect the remainder of his corrupt administration to suddenly dedicate themselves to good government?

The bad news: Our leadership of the free world has been badly damaged. If we suddenly have the right to depose heads of state, don’t Russia, North Korea and China have the same right? And the stated basis for abducting Mr. Maduro—drugs—fails the smell test considering President Trump’s recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández. [Editors’ note: Mr. Hernández was sentenced last year to 45 years in U.S. prison for helping drug traffickers move hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States but was pardoned by President Trump in December.] He was indicted and convicted in a U.S. federal court for his massive drug shipments to the United States and had started to serve a long sentence. Oddly, no military attack was needed for this: Honduras extradited him.
Joseph McGuire

I’m perplexed by this editorial. There is no such thing as a “rules-based international order.” A great Jesuit history teacher in high school taught me this uncomfortable truth years ago. Everything and anything is always up for grabs. Alliances come and go, as do kings and kingdoms. Nothing is guaranteed except Christ’s Catholic Church. That’s the history of mankind.

If the worst thing that Donald Trump does is arrest an evil despot who is guilty of murder, sending dangerous gangs to the United States, drug dealing, oppression of his people and happens to be on the most wanted list, then I join my fellow Catholic Venezuelans and celebrate with them. It looks like the evil regimes in Iran and Cuba may fall next. This would be great news for freedom-loving peoples. Mr. Trump is clearly doing something right. Let’s pray for true peace and demand freedom for all people—not just Americans.
Greg Rumak

Are we in favor of the “law of the jungle”? Or as Stephen Miller stated (paraphrasing), “We want Greenland. Nobody is going to put up a serious fight against our powerful military. So we should just take it.” This is OK?

As far as liberating Venezuela goes, the Trump administration has chosen not to support the democratically elected president, Edmundo Gonzáles, who won by a large margin in the last election. Instead, against the wishes of Nobel Prize winner María Corina Machado, they are supporting Maduro cronies. An article in The New York Times documented the increasing repression in the country since Mr. Maduro’s removal. And is cheering lower gas prices really in line with church teaching on the environment (see “Laudato Si’,” for example)?
Robert Reinke

This article appears in March 2026.