'Giant Diversionary Tactic': Strategist Accuses Trump of Using Venezuela to Hide Epstein Files

The US military carried out a dramatic pre-dawn raid in Caracas to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. This has shocked the world and sparked a fierce domestic firestorm. The White House calls the operation a masterstroke in the war on drugs, but veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has a much more cynical view.

On Jan. 3, 2026, members of the elite Delta Force carried out an operation called Operation Absolute Resolve. It reportedly killed at least 40 civilians, including an airstrike on an apartment building near Caracas airport.

According to the Ragin' Cajun, the timing of the strike is no coincidence. In a blistering video posted on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, via the Politicon platform, Carville accused President Donald Trump of using the invasion as a 'giant diversionary tactic' to bury the escalating scandal surrounding the Epstein files.

The release of the documents, which the Department of Justice says total over 5.2 million pages, was originally due on Dec. 19, 2025 but has been delayed past Jan. 5, 2026 as 400 attorneys review them for redactions.

The Epstein Smoke Screen

The strategist, never one to mince words, suggested that the military intervention was less about national security and more about political survival. His comments come as the Department of Justice faces mounting pressure over the release of some 5.2 million pages of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — files that have the potential to implicate a swathe of global elites.

The delay in the release of these files has fueled intense speculation, with Carville and other Democrats suggesting the Venezuela strike was perfectly timed to dominate headlines as the first batches of documents were made public.

'Come on, people! Wake up!' Carville urged in his signature raspy drawl. 'If you think this is anything remotely legit, or this is in furtherance of some foreign policy aim, or some aim of American interests, come on, please! Please, people! It's all about Epstein! Wake up! Get the scales off your eyes!'

Carville argued that the administration is desperate to shift the national conversation away from the lurid details of the Epstein documents and the ongoing debates over health subsidies. 'Think beyond just the front of your nose!' he added. 'This is Epstein... health subsidies... This is a giant diversionary tactic'.

A Diplomatic Disaster?

The operation, which reportedly involved Delta Force and a fleet of 150 aircraft, resulted in Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, being whisked away to a federal facility in New York. Photographs later emerged on Truth Social showing a blindfolded Maduro wearing a Nike Tech sweatsuit on board the USS Iwo Jima.

While Trump's base has celebrated the 'perp walk' of a long-time American adversary, Carville questioned the strategic foresight behind such a radical move. He pointed to the hypocrisy of the US criticising Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine while simultaneously toppling a sovereign leader in the Western Hemisphere.

'What the f--- has he ever done that's — not totally thought out — that's even marginally thought out?!' Carville exclaimed. 'Of course, now, we claim to have the moral high ground to criticise Putin for the illegal invasion of a sovereign nation... Well, our case got a little bit weaker now, didn't it?'

The fallout has already begun to sour relations across Latin America. Following the raid, Trump took to Fox & Friends to issue veiled threats to other regional leaders. He claimed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was effectively powerless against drug cartels and told Colombian President Gustavo Petro he needs to 'watch his a--.'

The Trump administration has justified the action by citing narco-terrorism charges first brought in a 2020 indictment, with Trump suggesting the US would now 'run' Venezuela to secure its oil and mineral resources.

Petro, who has previously alleged that the United States was being run by a 'clan of pedophiles', was quick to condemn the Caracas strike. He argued that the US is merely 'sending warships to kill fishermen' to prevent the Epstein list from coming to light. 'As if the people of Colombia would applaud an invasion of their brother,' he noted. The Venezuelan government has since declared a state of emergency, while China has formally demanded that the US release Maduro before his scheduled court appearance in Manhattan.

Carville's critique also extended to the institutions meant to restrain the presidency. He lambasted Congress for its perceived cowardice and expressed a deep-seated mistrust of the current Supreme Court. 'The Congress, they just sit there with one thumb up their a--, and one in their mouth, and they switch every 30 seconds,' he remarked. 'And this Supreme Court, you gotta follow it. But never, ever respect it'.