Maduro's downfall… a new chapter in the unraveling of the separatist movement's support network

Maduro's downfall… a new chapter in the unraveling of the separatist movement's support network

In a mere half-hour, the rule of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro came to an end when he was captured by US special forces acting on the direct orders of President Donald Trump. Trump had been threatening military intervention in Caracas for months to end the rule of an adversary whom Washington considers a “hostile regime” involved in international drug trafficking. Maduro’s downfall cannot be interpreted solely through the lens of Venezuela’s internal transformations, as the country grapples with one of its deepest economic and social crises due to sanctions and currency collapse. It also carries broader geopolitical implications, directly impacting unresolved regional issues, including the Western Sahara conflict. For decades, Caracas, along with Cuba, has been one of the most prominent supporters of the Polisario Front, a separatist movement in Latin America. Maduro, who inherited the Bolivarian project from his predecessor Hugo Chávez in the late 1990s, maintained his country…