News Analysis
The U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and transported him to New York to face drug trafficking charges earlier this month has triggered a surge of debate among analysts and netizens in Taiwan and China over whether Washington has established a new precedent for dealing with authoritarian leaders.
Within days of the Jan. 3 military strike ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese social media lit up with comparisons between Venezuela and China since both are authoritarian regimes.
Trump acted swiftly to define the limits of the operation. In a Jan. 8 interview with The New York Times, he dismissed comparisons between Venezuela and other geopolitical hotspots, such as Taiwan. He said that Venezuela represented a “real threat” to America, reiterating that Maduro’s regime enabled criminals and drug trafficking to flow into the United States….
Maduro’s Capture Sparks Debate Among Observers in China and Taiwan Over US Deterrence
