Trump's War Remarks Haunt Him as Venezuela's Leader Captured in Strikes

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Donald Trump, who once declared himself the "President of Peace" after returning to the White House last year, found his promises challenged this past weekend when he ordered land strikes on Venezuela's capital. This move contradicted his long-standing claims that he would avoid starting wars and instead focus on ending them.

During his second inaugural address in January 2025, Trump emphasized that "we will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end—and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into." This sentiment was echoed throughout his 2024 campaign, where he repeatedly asserted, "Under Trump we will have no more wars, no more disruptions and we will have prosperity and peace for all."

At one rally, he claimed, "I'm not going to start a war, I'm going to stop wars," and at another, he declared, "I am the candidate of peace, I am peace." His campaign even branded him and running mate JD Vance as the "pro-peace ticket." During the first year of his second term, Trump campaigned relentlessly for the Nobel Peace Prize, insisting he "deserved" the award.

His inner circle has also supported his self-proclamation as the "President of Peace." For instance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, "President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace. It's time our State Department display that," exactly a month ago when the State Department renamed the former Institute of Peace to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.

On Wednesday, Trump continued his peace rhetoric into 2026 by announcing his New Year's resolution as "Peace on Earth." However, just three days later, strikes he had ordered were carried out on Venezuela's capital, Caracas. At around 2 a.m., at least seven explosions occurred, and low-flying aircraft swept through the city. Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations following a months-long pressure campaign.

Hours after the strikes, Trump announced on Truth Social that Maduro and his wife had been removed from the country. "The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," he wrote.

Saturday’s strikes in Venezuela come as the Trump administration has escalated a pressure campaign on Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism in the United States. Trump had previously threatened to order strikes on Venezuelan targets following months of attacks on boats accused of carrying drugs. Maduro has denied accusations of leading an international drug trafficking organization and criticized U.S. military operations as a thinly veiled attempt to remove him from power.

Venezuela is the latest country to face U.S. strikes under Trump, despite his peace rhetoric. According to conflict monitor ACLED, the U.S. president launched more airstrikes on foreign nations in the first six months of his second term than former President Joe Biden did in all four years of his presidency. In 2025 alone, there were well over 500 U.S. bombings around the globe, including attacks on Iran’s nuclear program and a large air and naval campaign against Houthi targets in Yemen.

U.S. forces had already targeted Venezuelan boats allegedly carrying drugs, and on Christmas Day, Trump launched airstrikes on what he called ISIS "terrorist scum" that he claimed had been brutalizing Christians in Nigeria. Days earlier, the U.S. president approved strikes on Islamic State operatives in Syria, and in November, American forces hit ISIS targets in Somalia.

Despite these actions, Trump was awarded the widely-criticized Fifa Peace Prize last month. As part of his ambition to be seen as a peacemaker, he has claimed to have ended eight wars, citing peace agreements between Israel and Hamas, Israel and Iran, Pakistan and India, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.

However, his claims are exaggerated. His recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted that significant work remains before any declaration of an end to the war in Gaza. Fresh fighting broke out recently between Thailand and Cambodia, and between Congolese forces and Rwanda-backed rebels. Mediation efforts in Egypt and Ethiopia, which do not directly involve the United States, have stalled, indicating heightened tensions rather than actual war.

The White House lists the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo as one that Trump resolved, but there has been no threat of war between the neighbors during his second term or any significant contribution from him this year to improve relations. India also denied Trump’s claims that he brokered its ceasefire with Pakistan by offering trade concessions, stating there was no conversation between the U.S. and India on trade in regards to the ceasefire.

In recent months, congressional Democrats and even some Republicans have pushed back against the Trump administration's military buildup in Venezuela. "This war is illegal," said Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, shortly after Saturday's strikes. Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also expressed concern, writing, "I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force."