Trump administration officials are drawing parallels between Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who was captured by American forces in 1989 following an invasion and psychological warfare operation. Both men face federal drug trafficking indictments, with current Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasizing that Maduro should be treated as a criminal rather than a legitimate head of state. The comparison has surfaced in policy discussions, particularly given that Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, a presidential envoy to Ukraine, participated in the Panama operation as an infantry commander.
Analysts caution that military action against Venezuela would prove far more challenging than the Panama intervention. Venezuela is roughly 12 times larger than Panama, with over 10 times the population, and Maduro maintains elite Cuban-supplied security forces protecting him. Even the limited Panama operation resulted in 23 American military deaths and hundreds of Panamanian casualties.
Maduro has acknowledged the historical precedent, laying a wreath at a Panama City memorial in 2015 commemorating invasion victims while declaring that Latin America would never again experience American military intervention.
Analysts caution that military action against Venezuela would prove far more challenging than the Panama intervention. Venezuela is roughly 12 times larger than Panama, with over 10 times the population, and Maduro maintains elite Cuban-supplied security forces protecting him. Even the limited Panama operation resulted in 23 American military deaths and hundreds of Panamanian casualties.
Maduro has acknowledged the historical precedent, laying a wreath at a Panama City memorial in 2015 commemorating invasion victims while declaring that Latin America would never again experience American military intervention.
