President Trump is right to get tough on Maduro. What comes next is critical

Trump targets Venezuelan narco-state using military force and sanctions, citing security threats from Maduro regime's drug trafficking operations.

Sanctions were removed or eased, throwing the regime a lifeline and emboldening Maduro to steal yet another election in 2024. Mike Pompeo serves as a contributor at FOX News Channel. Previously, he served in the Trump administration as the sixth director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the 70th U.S. secretary of state. He formerly represented Kansas’ 4th Congressional District.

In many ways, Trump’s approach is a continuation of the tough policies we pursued during my tenure as secretary of state under the first Trump administration. We recognized the dangers that this narco-trafficking dictatorship, aligned with American enemies like Iran, Cuba, China, and Russia, posed to our interests, and we were determined to do the necessary to protect the American people.  

That’s why we initiated a pressure campaign to isolate the regime and raise the costs for Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro by crippling the country’s ability to export its biggest sources of revenue – cutting oil exports by 70% in just a few years. The Trump Justice Department indicted Maduro and his cronies on charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, and the administration expanded its counter-narcotics operations targeting drug routes from Venezuela.