As details of the alleged operation trickled out, the narrative grew more complex and contested. U.S. officials described coordination between special operators and law enforcement, precision strikes to neutralize potential resistance, and a rapid extraction designed to minimize civilian casualties. Venezuelan state media countered with claims of aggression and illegality, insisting that Maduro had been abducted and that the charges were fabrications designed to justify regime change. Independent verification proved difficult amid restricted access, internet outages, and competing propaganda. What remained undeniable was the psychological rupture. For years, Maduro’s survival had been used as evidence that authoritarian resilience could outlast pressure indefinitely. His sudden disappearance from the presidential palace undermined that assumption, signaling to both autocrats and opposition movements that even the most entrenched rulers might face abrupt reckoning. At the same time, the spectacle risked reinforcing narratives of foreign domination, potentially strengthening hardline factions determined to resist any transition perceived as externally imposed. The battle for legitimacy began immediately, fought through statements, images, and symbols as much as through institutions and force.
