U.S. President Donald Trump observing the operational situation. [The White House Instagram]

On the 3rd, the United States launched an operation to take over Venezuela, codenamed 'Operation Absolute Resolve,' and succeeded in capturing and extraditing President Nicolás Maduro.

U.S. President Donald Trump held an emergency press conference that day and explained the operation, stating, "The operational capabilities of the Venezuelan military were neutralized in a short period of time" and "because Venezuelan soldiers and law enforcement agencies who cooperated with us successfully arrested Maduro in the middle of the night."

While watching President Trump's press conference, there was a point that particularly caught my attention. It was the part where he emphasized, "because Venezuelan soldiers and law enforcement agencies who cooperated with us successfully arrested Maduro in the middle of the night," in explaining the background of the Venezuelan military's operational capabilities being neutralized in a short period.

If we accept Trump's explanation as is, this can essentially be called a regime change coup in which internal Venezuelan forces actively participated. It means that rather than resisting the invasion of U.S. forces into their own country, Venezuelan soldiers actively cooperated with the U.S. military's operations or even led the way.

This suggests that a specific 'law enforcement agency' also cooperated with the U.S. military in arresting their own president. If it's a law enforcement agency, what specific organization could it be? It's unlikely to be the judiciary or general administrative departments. If so, the police are the most likely candidates. While not law enforcement bodies, intelligence agencies also likely cooperated with the United States. In short, it means that the entirety of the Venezuelan government's security forces rejected Maduro.

According to reports, U.S. Delta Force members arrested President Maduro within three hours of the operation's commencement. Where were Maduro's bodyguards at that time? Bodyguards should ideally have been surrounding President Maduro until the last moment. However, not a single bodyguard was captured in the photos taken just before Maduro's arrest.

Although not directly mentioned by Trump at the press conference, the enthusiastic welcome of U.S. troops by the Venezuelan people cannot be overlooked. Despite Trump stating, "We will run this country until a regime transition occurs," the Venezuelan people are in a festive mood. Scenes of them celebrating the restoration of liberal democracy and cheering for America and Trump are gracing foreign press photos.

At this point, a question arises. What would happen if, hypothetically, the unusual events that occurred in Venezuela were to happen domestically? In other words, how would various domestic sectors respond to such a situation?

First, how would the military react? The ruling power would likely seek the military's help to prevent the collapse of its power structure in a crisis situation. But would it happen according to the ruling power's intentions? Even if the ruling power claims that mobilizing the military and declaring martial law is the exclusive prerogative of the president, the military has directly witnessed how President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law was rejected and trampled upon.

During the promotion process for lieutenant generals last year, candidates had to answer a specific question from military personnel officials: "Is martial law rebellion?" Answering anything other than "Rebellion" in relation to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea would lead to disqualification for promotion. How did the promotion candidates behave in the face of this communist-style ideological screening? They responded that martial law is rebellion.

President Yoon is currently on trial, facing charges of rebellion and foreign exchange crimes, for having declared martial law. Numerous generals who followed the President's martial law order have been arrested and detained on charges of rebellion and have suffered political retaliation, including dismissal.

Through this process of questions and answers, the promotion candidates were promoted to lieutenant general (3-star) in the 2025 appointments. The list of those who aligned with the regime's demands by calling it rebellion is as follows:

◇ Army: △ Han Ki-seong, Corps Commander △ Jeong Yu-soo, Corps Commander △ Lee Sang-yeol, Corps Commander △ Lee Il-yong, Corps Commander △ Choi Seong-jin, Corps Commander △ Lee Im-soo, Corps Commander △ Park Seong-je, Special Warfare Commander △ Eo Chang-jun, Capital Defense Commander △ Kwon Hyeok-dong, Missile Strategic Commander △ Kang Gwan-beom, Training Commander △ Park Chun-sik, Logistics Commander △ Choi Jang-sik, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army △ Kang Hyeon-woo, Director of Operations, Joint Chiefs of Staff △ Kim Jong-mook, Chief of Staff, Ground Operations Command.

◇ Navy: △ Gwak Kwang-seop, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations △ Park Gyu-baek, Superintendent of Korea Naval Academy △ Kang Dong-gu, Director of Strategy and Planning, Joint Chiefs of Staff.

◇ Air Force: △ Kwon Young-min, Training Commander △ Kim Jun-ho, Director of Defense Intelligence Agency △ Gu Sang-mo, Director of Military Support, Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Would the current Republic of Korea Armed Forces, led by these individuals, form martial law troops and enforce martial law on citizens as demanded by the ruling power, or would they refuse the President's orders? Hypothetically, if they were requested to cooperate by external forces such as the United States, as in Venezuela, would they refuse cooperation based on the constitution, or would they choose to cooperate with them based on the surrounding circumstances? Based on the constitution? This provision is too unfamiliar to them.

Unfortunately, the current ruling power has itself dismantled various protective measures stipulated by the constitution in a national emergency situation. Martial law automatically becomes rebellion the moment it is declared. The current government is even in the process of deleting the legal provision of public officials' 'duty to obey' and preparing grounds to refuse unlawful orders from superiors. According to the current ruling power's logic, declaring martial law is rebellion, and therefore, it is an unlawful order.

The Presidential Security Service's inherent duty of presidential protection can also be punished as a crime for obstructing citizens' arrest efforts. The Security Service must recognize that its inherent duties could potentially become illegal.

The ruling power must seriously consider the measures it has created and their impending consequences. This is because the consciousness level of a significant portion of the public is already beginning to resemble that of Venezuela. The following comment was written on a Chosun Ilbo article on the 4th about the Maduro arrest incident:

"Korea, we welcome you too. Honestly, we can't live because we're so embarrassed for the world." (Member59176571 2026.01.04. 01:57)

Former Editorial Writer, Munhwa Ilbo