The “law enforcement operation in Venezuela on January 3” refers to the U.S. military raid and airstrikes codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, in which more than 150 U.S. aircraft supported special-operations and law‑enforcement teams that entered Caracas, bombed Venezuelan military infrastructure, and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, whom the U.S. had previously indicted on narco‑terrorism and cocaine‑trafficking charges. The Trump administration and U.S. diplomats have framed this as a “surgical law‑enforcement operation” to arrest indicted fugitives, while many governments and legal experts describe it as an unlawful armed attack or regime‑change operation.
Public sources indicate that Paraguay’s support has been political and diplomatic rather than operational. After the January 3 raid, President Santiago Peña publicly welcomed Maduro’s removal as “good news” for the region and called for a democratic path forward, and at the UN Security Council Paraguay’s representative backed the U.S. position by labeling Maduro and the Cartel de los Soles a threat and saying Maduro’s exit should lead to restoration of democracy in Venezuela. There is no credible public evidence that Paraguay provided troops, intelligence, or direct operational assistance; the State Department readout simply thanks Paraguay for its support in “confronting narcoterrorism” and regional security, without specifying concrete roles.
Open reporting shows the operation was U.S.-planned and U.S.-led, with coordination among several U.S. civilian and military agencies:
• U.S. Armed Forces (notably special operations forces and more than 150 aircraft under U.S. Southern Command) carried out the cross‑border strikes and the raid, in an operation codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve. • The FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team embedded with the military to help seize and transport Maduro, and Justice Department prosecutors are handling the narco‑terrorism case in federal court in New York. • The CIA ran clandestine intelligence inside Venezuela, including a small covert team and at least one source inside the Venezuelan government that tracked Maduro’s movements.
No credible sources report that other regional security forces directly took part in the raid itself; other Latin American governments have mainly reacted diplomatically after the fact.
In this context, U.S. officials use “narcoterrorism” to describe alleged crimes in which Venezuelan leaders—including Nicolás Maduro and associates—are accused of using cocaine trafficking in partnership with designated terrorist organizations as a weapon against the United States. Earlier U.S. indictments charged Maduro and other officials with running a “narco‑terrorism conspiracy” via the Cartel de los Soles and working with Colombia’s FARC guerrillas to move tons of cocaine toward the U.S.; the January 3 operation is framed by the Trump administration and U.S. diplomats at the UN as a “law enforcement” action to arrest these “narco‑terrorists.” Many international‑law experts and governments dispute this framing and see the operation as an unlawful use of force rather than standard counter‑narcotics policing.
Santiago Peña is an economist and politician from Paraguay’s long‑ruling Colorado Party. He worked at Paraguay’s central bank, served as finance minister (2015–2017), and was elected president in 2023. His government presents itself as pro‑market and strongly aligned with the United States and other conservative governments on regional security: Peña has backed tough stances against organized crime, expressed support for the U.S. removal of Maduro as “good news” for the region, and emphasizes cooperation on issues like drug trafficking and transnational crime, while also calling for democratic processes to guide Venezuela’s political transition.
Tommy Pigott is the U.S. State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson, a senior communications official in the Office of the Spokesperson who delivers and clears public statements on behalf of the department. A “readout” is an official, usually brief, written summary of a diplomatic interaction—such as a phone call or meeting—describing who participated and the main topics discussed, without providing a full transcript. In this case, Pigott is the official attributing and authorizing the summary of Secretary Rubio’s call with President Peña.
The State Department readout of Rubio’s call with President Peña does not list concrete new follow‑up actions, beyond general thanks for Paraguay’s support in “confronting narcoterrorism and strengthening security in our hemisphere.” Broader U.S. statements around the Venezuela operation emphasize ongoing regional coordination on security and rule‑of‑law issues, but as of now there are no publicly detailed, specific new U.S.–Paraguay joint initiatives tied directly to this call.