Former Venezuela Drug Enforcement Administration attaché Wesley Tabor said on Newsmax on Saturday that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado could play a central role in what comes next in Venezuela after the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro, while stepping in as the country moves toward new elections.
Machado posted on X, "Venezuelans, the time for freedom has arrived."
"She's coming fresh off a Nobel Prize and she can go in, take the helm until they have elections," Tabor told "America Right Now," adding that he believes U.S. officials have a plan to stabilize the situation in the wake of the operation.
However, he dismissed Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez's standing in any transition, saying that "she's in no position to do anything," and predicting the regime's top figures could soon be scrambling.
"She's going to be running for her life here soon because this dictatorship has put people, you know, they had the secret police, they're putting people in prisons and torturing them and all these horrible acts," he said.
Tabor also praised the military's execution of the mission, saying it involved targeted strikes with limited collateral impact.
"Luckily, there wasn't a lot of collateral damage in this. In this whole operation, we're talking very precise hits start about 1:30 this morning," he said. "Hats off to the military because, listen, they did a great job. They hit specific nodes."
Calling the operation "fantastic," Tabor pointed out that "none of our guys or gals were injured" and said that it "was just an overall great operation."
From there, Tabor shifted to what he sees as the next major stage: potential U.S. legal proceedings involving Maduro.
He called it symbolic that Maduro would be brought to the United States rather than being detained elsewhere.
"[President Donald Trump] didn't put him in Guantanamo," he said. "He's bringing him right to the United States, right to the heart of our country. Yeah, in New York."
He said Maduro is facing multiple counts and could spend the rest of his life behind bars. "It's very symbolic because, listen, he is facing like six or seven different charges. This guy could be in prison the rest of his life. He probably will be."
Tabor said any case would reflect years of investigative work by numerous officials.
"We built a really good case of many, many people worked on this. This isn't one or two guys. This is teams of people," he said.
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