Get to the Choppa!!

Things That Go Bump in the Night, Maduro, and U.S. Politics

In the wee hours of January 3, 2026, the U.S. Military executed a daring raid into Venezuela to capture the head of state, Nicolás Maduro. In an operation that lasted just over three hours, American special forces from CAG (SFOD-Delta) had Maduro and his wife in custody without a single American casualty.

The political right was awash with speculation. Does Maduro’s capture have any implications regarding past or future U.S. elections?

I think that it is possible – let’s see why.

Venezuela is Relevant to Elections – or is it?

Smartmatic makes equipment used to help nation-states conduct elections. They produce products that electronically administer the election process from voters casting a ballot, to the official reporting of the final election results. The company gained notoriety after it was selected to furnish equipment to conduct the 2004 Venezuelan presidential election, that allowed Hugo Chavez to rise to power and throw Venezuela into the maw of communism.

Smartmatic technology is used around the world to conduct elections in democratic states, including the U.S. However, despite what you may have heard online, Smartmatic is not a Venezuelan company. It was founded in Florida as a Delaware based Subchapter-S corporation in the year 2000 by three Venezuela-born engineers; Antonio Mugica, Alfredo Anzola, and Roger Piñate.

It is important to note that although some suspicious “features” embedded within the Smartmatic system exist, a clean election can be conducted with Smartmatic technology. After all, the company makes what is in essence a fancy adding machine – a tool, nothing more. There are several things that can cause problems in an election if electronic voting equipment is used:

· Election officials must ensure that the electronic equipment is separated from the internet, and that encryption must be used to prevent unauthorized access to the election process in accordance with the nation’s laws.

· Election officials must ensure that the electronic equipment is not compromised by a bad actor prior or during the election by the physical insertion of an unauthorized device or the installation of any unauthorized software (malware).

· Election officials must ensure that the election process is traceable and auditable in accordance with the nation’s laws.

· Election officials must not accept questionable ballots or ballots that do not meet the legal threshold to be accepted and counted.

· Election officials must not destroy ballots or not count ballots because of personal bias.

· Election officials must not count ballots more than once, unless that count is part of an audit or authorized recount.

You should be noticing a trend here; election officials matter the most when it comes to an election being clean or dirty. Indeed, Smartmatic ceased all operations in Venezuela after the contested 2018 Presidential election, because the company was convinced that corrupt election officials had used Smartmatic technology to swing the election to Nicolás Maduro. That is an important admission, because Smartmatic is saying that their technology cannot ensure a clean election without the election officials acting in good faith.

“I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how, but what is extraordinarily important is this – who will count the votes, and how.”

-Boris Bazhanov, Joseph Stalin’s former secretary

The U.S. election in 2020 was a case study on that quote. The problem was one of corrupt election officials; not the use of an electronic electoral system. It matters not if the system was paper or electronic, a nation will not have a clean election if those who count the votes are crooked.

Will Maduro Sing Like a Canary?

When an arrest of this magnitude occurs, it helps to read the unsealed indictment. For those not in the legal field, an indictment answers three main questions:

1. Who is being accused of a crime (AKA the Defendant, or Defendants)?

2. What crime(s) is the defendant(s) accused of committing?

3. How did the defendant(s) commit the crime(s)?

Indictments must contain factual information, but some small amounts of speculation and hearsay are permitted, because an indictment is only probable cause; it is not legal proof. The legal proof and the case that will be built to obtain that proof is what the prosecutor will lay out at trial.

So, what is in this indictment that we might find interesting?

On page 3, the indictment accuses that Maduro declared victory in the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election under circumstances that were extremely suspect. The election was so fraudulent that “Venezuela’s National Assembly declared that Maduro had usurped power and was not the legitimate president of Venezuela.” Internationally, 50 countries refused to acknowledge Maduro as the legitimately elected democratic leader of Venezuela. In 2024, Maduro usurped power in another fraudulent election.

On page 16, the indictment claims that the defendants used drug money to raise $20M to fund Cilia Adela Flores De Maduro’s National Assembly campaign.

You need to read between the lines a bit for context, but President Trump’s Truth Social posts immediately after the raid help provide that context. President Trump fired off several truths immediately after Maduro’s arrest that left no doubt that he was bringing attention to the 2020 election and linking it to Maduro’s arrest. This fueled the speculation that Maduro’s arrest would in some way shed light on the election fraud that occurred in 2020. I don’t personally think that is the case; I think these TS posts were about communications to corrupt US officials, a bit of trolling if you will.

It’s important to pay close attention to what Maduro is being accused of in the indictment and what he is not. Maduro is not being accused of election fraud in the U.S. to place Joe Biden in office.

However, Maduro is accused of:

· Using drug money to fund election campaigns to place his people in positions of power to aid his criminal conspiracy to import drugs into the United States.

· Using fraudulent elections to keep him in power as head of state so he could continue his criminal conspiracy to import drugs into the United States.

That’s why President Trump is hammering on the 2020 election. He’s not going to use Maduro’s trial or his testimony to throw Democrats in jail; he’s telling the political elites that the rules have changed.

· Using drug money (or any illicit funds) to fund a political campaign is grounds for coming after corrupt elected officials.

· Using fraudulent elections to further a criminal conspiracy is grounds for coming after corrupt elected officials.

And that’s why the Democrats (and probably some Republicans) are so upset. The entire D.C. political establishment has been screaming for someone to “do something” about Maduro. The Biden DOJ even raised the bounty on Maduro from $15M to $25M (Trump’s DOJ then increased it again recently to $50M in 2025). All this attention…but it was political theatre. The instant the DoW is ordered to go out and do something about this irritating tinpot dictator in Venezuela, the establishment is aghast. DC hypocrisy knows no limits. Just look at this one example of Senator Schumer demanding something be done with Maduro, and again his feigned outrage at the illegal capture of a head of state. Others on the left are even demanding that the U.S. reinstate Maduro! Spare me the indignation, Senator.

Trump unequivocally told them that the precedent has been set, and they too can have their bedroom door kicked in at zero dark thirty and get snatched right out of their beds.

In this article, I predicted that we would see accountability in 2026. Maduro’s arrest and President Trump’s trolling only serve to further convince me of this possibility.

2026 is going to be one heck of a year, folks.

Until next time,

SLAG