Liberals have taken many radical, nonsensical positions in recent years. Few are as baffling as their outrage over President Trump’s removal of Nicolás Maduro, the illegitimate, narco-terrorist dictator of Venezuela — a move the long-suffering citizens of Venezuela are openly cheering. But not so among progressives, such as the clueless governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, who claims Trump’s action was designed, “To distract from Epstein, the explosion of health and homeowners insurance costs, and the tariffs that are decimating small businesses …” Or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who downplays Maduro’s tyrannical brutality by claiming,” It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.” So, who exactly are Pritzker, AOC, and others of their ilk defending? Why are they saying we should have left him in power? In 2023, Joe Biden’s State Department produced a 76-page assessment of specific human rights abuses committed by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his thugs (many of whom were apparently Cuban mercenaries) against their hapless victims. The assessment documents a staggering range of abuses, including: …unlawful or arbitrary killings… enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention by security forces… political prisoners… punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative… use of children by illegal armed groups; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists… harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations; extensive gender-based violence… trafficking in persons… and the worst forms of child labor. The report makes for a tough read, given its summation of the viciousness, cruelty, and ruthlessness of Maduro and his henchmen.  Want more? What about the details in the federal criminal indictment of Maduro issued by a grand jury in New York? The superseding indictment charges Maduro and a host of other confederates with running a drug cartel “to import tons of cocaine into the United States.” Makes sense from Maduro’s point of view: his disastrous policies turned Venezuela into an economic basket case, making a once-prosperous country a bankrupt third-world hellhole. Thus, Maduro had to get money from somewhere to line his pockets and finance his depredations. According to the indictment, Maduro essentially turned the Venezuelan government into a massive drug and illegal weapons smuggling operation, doing everything from using Venezuelan law enforcement to protect his distribution system to issuing “diplomatic passports to drug traffickers” and providing “diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds.” All of the money was used to enrich himself, his family, and the “political and military elite” who kept him in power. That also included partnering “with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world,” extremely dangerous criminal cartels and terrorist groups that have kidnapped and murdered Americans, like FARC, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, or Cartel del Noreste, and Tren de Aragua. By the way, the Caribbean drug smugglers that our military has been taking out? Part of the indictment talks about the 200 to 250 tons of cocaine “trafficked” to the U.S. annually by Maduro and his cartel cronies through “maritime shipments…north from Venezuela’s coastline using go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.” Additionally, “air shipments were often dispatched from clandestine airstrips, typically made of dirt or grass, and also from commercial airports under the control” of Maduro and his corrupt officials. I don’t think the majority of Americans have a lot of sympathy for the criminals smuggling drugs on these “go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.” From the drugs poisoning our citizens, especially our youth, to the citizens of Venezuela who have been censored, arrested, tortured, and killed, Maduro has been a scourge who has caused untold harm and suffering. The political parties and both sides of the political aisle may disagree on many domestic issues. But when it comes to the removal of Nicolás Maduro Moros, progressives, liberals, and Democrats, along with conservatives and Republicans, should be praising the president for finally taking action to rid our hemisphere of this menace. * * * Hans von Spakovsky is a Senior Legal Fellow in the Meese Institute for the Rule of Law at Advancing American Freedom. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.