China: Venezuela is the only case in modern warfare where a president has been captured and taken away.

The Trump administration dispatched troops to launch surprise raids on Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and other cities, and escorted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife out of the country. Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of China’s Global Times, wrote in a Chinese media post that Venezuela has become the only case in modern warfare where a president was captured and removed immediately, adding, “His incompetence has overshadowed all of America’s adversaries since the end of the Cold War.”

On Saturday (January 3), Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social: “Maduro and his wife Flores have been arrested. The United States has successfully carried out a large-scale strike operation against Venezuela and its leadership. President Maduro and his wife have been apprehended and removed from the country.”

Late Saturday evening, Chinese media published a commentary on its WeChat official account, stating: “It should be noted that Venezuela is not a small country in Latin America; yet the U.S. raid unfolded as if it were targeting Greenland—meeting virtually no resistance. Venezuela has thus become the only example in modern warfare where a president was seized instantly. His level of ineptitude surpasses all of America’s post–Cold War adversaries—whether the Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, Milo?evi?’s Yugoslavia, or even Noriega’s Panama, all of which put up some resistance.”

The Chinese media outlet further remarked: “Whatever kind of person Maduro may be, he has undoubtedly become a globally unparalleled political laughingstock.”

The commentary added that Maduro collapsed too quickly—being directly captured by U.S. forces—and his abysmal performance might weaken global sympathy for Venezuela and reduce the intensity of international condemnation of the U.S. invasion.

It explained that had Maduro organized Venezuelan resistance, international public opinion might have generated stronger willingness and momentum to oppose the U.S. invasion.

The Chinese media also asserted that there has long been broad international consensus that the U.S. justification of “combating drug cartels” is merely a pretext. Trump’s real aim, it claimed, is to reassert strict control over Latin America and implement a Trump-style “Monroe Doctrine,” targeting Venezuela’s leftist government to “make an example of it” for the entire South American region.

The post concluded: “The U.S. invasion of Venezuela occurred at the very start of 2026, signaling that international law will become even more fragile this year. I anticipate that Saturday’s military action will diminish the likelihood of ending the Russia-Ukraine war and increase incentives for parties in the Middle East to act outside ceasefire agreements. If the U.S. can attack whomever it wants and arrest whomever it pleases, who in this world will still believe that international law is something serious?”

Since last August, the U.S. has deployed naval vessels and Marines off Venezuela’s coast under the stated rationale of combating drug cartels. Starting in September, U.S. forces conducted airstrikes in the Caribbean against vessels alleged to be drug-running boats operated by Venezuelan gangs—a claim denied by Venezuela, leading to continued deterioration in bilateral relations.

Trump repeatedly threatened ground operations against Venezuela and hinted that Maduro should step down. Recently, the U.S. significantly escalated its military presence near Venezuela, including deploying an aircraft carrier, multiple warships, and advanced fighter squadrons in the Caribbean region.

Prior to Saturday’s large-scale airstrikes, U.S. media had already reported that Trump ordered strikes on multiple targets inside Venezuela, including military facilities. Early Saturday morning, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a ban prohibiting American aircraft from flying over Venezuelan airspace.