Venezuela's former strongman Nicolas Maduro appeared to take a mocking tone towards US President Donald Trump in the weeks leading up to his capture, with a video of him dancing and singing John Lennon's iconic song "Imagine" surfacing online.
In the days before Operation Absolute Resolve, which resulted in Maduro's arrest on Saturday morning, the Venezuelan leader seemed to downplay the threat from Trump, who had amassed an armada near Venezuela. Maduro was seen performing a dance routine at a public rally in Caracas, with many interpreting it as a tongue-in-cheek attempt to mock Trump's warnings.
In a statement, Maduro claimed that his actions were meant to promote peace and unity, saying "Do everything for peace, as John Lennon used to say, right?" He also praised the song as an inspiration for all time and a gift to humanity. However, some on Trump's team saw this display of defiance as the final straw.
In a stunning turn of events, US forces flew into Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, before bringing them to the United States to face charges related to drug trafficking. The operation resulted in significant casualties for Maduro's security team, according to Venezuelan officials.
Since the arrest, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as acting president, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that she is not considered the country's legitimate ruler. In a recent interview, Trump vowed to hold Rodríguez accountable if she fails to meet his expectations, saying "If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro."
In the days before Operation Absolute Resolve, which resulted in Maduro's arrest on Saturday morning, the Venezuelan leader seemed to downplay the threat from Trump, who had amassed an armada near Venezuela. Maduro was seen performing a dance routine at a public rally in Caracas, with many interpreting it as a tongue-in-cheek attempt to mock Trump's warnings.
In a statement, Maduro claimed that his actions were meant to promote peace and unity, saying "Do everything for peace, as John Lennon used to say, right?" He also praised the song as an inspiration for all time and a gift to humanity. However, some on Trump's team saw this display of defiance as the final straw.
In a stunning turn of events, US forces flew into Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, before bringing them to the United States to face charges related to drug trafficking. The operation resulted in significant casualties for Maduro's security team, according to Venezuelan officials.
Since the arrest, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as acting president, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that she is not considered the country's legitimate ruler. In a recent interview, Trump vowed to hold Rodríguez accountable if she fails to meet his expectations, saying "If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro."
. And can we talk about John Lennon for a sec? That song is still iconic and deserves better representation than some dodgy dance move by Maduro 
. Trump's team seeing it as a "final straw" is pretty rich, though - dude, you've been making ridiculous decisions for years, what did you expect from this one? 
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole situation. It's crazy how Maduro could be seen dancing and singing that John Lennon song in the weeks leading up to his arrest. I mean, you'd think he'd be super nervous, right? But maybe he was just trying to psyche himself out or something? 
It sounds like things are really escalating between these two leaders. I'm worried about the consequences for Venezuela, though. They're already struggling so much... 
It just seemed too convenient, like he was trying to distract us from the real issue at hand. And then, Trump's team is quick to pounce on it, saying it's a sign of defiance? Give me a break! 
And why is Trump so invested in Venezuela's affairs? There's gotta be more to it than just good ol' US diplomacy... 
so first off lets talk about maduro's dance moves lol he was literally dancing like a fool at this public rally and everyone thought it was him roasting trump but honestly who does that kinda thing? anyway Maduro's all about peace and unity now and praising john lennon's song imagine right yeah sure dude 
Venezuela's drama always keeps me on edge but it seems like no one's getting out of this situation unscathed 
Cilia Flores' fate is still unknown and vice president Delcy Rodríguez will have to navigate a lot of pressure now that she's in charge 
It feels like this is just the beginning of something big...
.
. But at the same time, it's like, what's going on with Venezuela?! 
One day it's Maduro, the next it's Delcy Rodríguez... who's in charge now?!?
. You can't just threaten someone and expect them to fold 
. Maduro seemed pretty chill about it though, even dancing and singing John Lennon 
.
like I was watching the news and they just said that Nicolas Maduro got caught 
I don't know how Trump knew where to find him tho 
that's wild. So, who's next? 
I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out. 
? And then Maduro's all like 'Oh, I'm just dancing and singing a song about peace' 