- Foreign minister welcomes ‘removal of the dictator’; Netanyahu congratulates Trump for ‘bold and historic leadership,’ without directly mentioning the operation
Israel congratulated US President Donald Trump on Saturday for his successful operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar declaring that the United States “acted as the leader of the free world,” while expressing hope that Jerusalem and Caracas can reestablish ties.
Earlier Saturday, the US carried out a large-scale military operation in and around Caracas, bombing military sites and sending special forces to abduct the Venezuelan strongman and prosecute him in the US for narco-terrorism charges.
“At this historic moment, Israel stands alongside the freedom-loving Venezuelan people, who have suffered under Maduro’s illegal tyranny,” Sa’ar said hours later in a statement. “Israel welcomes the removal of the dictator who led a network of drugs and terror and hopes for the return of democracy to the country and for friendly relations between the states,” he said.
“The people of Venezuela deserve to exercise their democratic rights. South America deserves a future free from the axis of terror and drugs,” Sa’ar added. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also implied support for the operation, congratulating Trump on X for his “bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice.”
Netanyahu conspicuously did not mention the operation, Venezuela or Maduro in his post by name. Venezuela broke diplomatic ties with Israel over Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008-2009, and under Maduro, it has been one of the world’s most vocal countries in its opposition to Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror invasion.Also weighing in on the events in Venezuela was Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who issued an apparent threat to Iran, saying it should take note of Maduro’s fate amid major protests within the Islamic Republic over the country’s failing economy over the past week.
“The regime in Iran should pay close attention to what is happening in Venezuela,” he wrote on X. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, also made parallels to Iran, saying on X that Maduro’s capture is “not only good news for the people dwelling in Caracas; it is also a devastating blow to the global axis of evil and a clear message to [Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei.
“Maduro did not run a country; he ran a criminal and drug empire that directly fueled Hezbollah and Iran,” Chikli said.
“President Trump’s decisive steps have once again proven that strong leadership is the only way to subdue dictators. This is a direct battle between the values of freedom and the West and the dangerous alliance of radical Islam and communism,” he continued. “The world is a safer place today.”
BY: The Times Union
