Original Author: Xu Shuai
Xu Shuai, a professor at the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University in Beijing, offers a detailed description of the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their heavily fortified residence. Calling this operation a “lightning strike,” Xu elaborates on four aspects of the U.S. military tactics that enabled it and assesses Venezuelan intelligence and military blunders before and during the operation. He concludes by naming several “strategic errors” that the United States committed despite its operational success.
This is one of six pieces published by the journal of Contemporary International Relations following an academic seminar titled “U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela and Its Impacts.” The other five pieces are also available on the Interpret: China platform. The journal is published by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a Chinese think tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security.