ABQ wokies, NM House speaker melt down after Maduro capture by Trump

Far-left activists in Albuquerque and New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) erupted in protests and online tirades over the weekend following the dramatic capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, exposing what critics describe as another public meltdown fueled by none other than what many call “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

According to reporting by KOAT-TV, demonstrations broke out in Albuquerque and other U.S. cities after U.S. officials confirmed Maduro and his wife were taken into custody during a late-night operation. Protesters in New Mexico condemned the move, despite Maduro facing long-standing U.S. indictments alleging narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and collaboration with foreign terrorist organizations. Interestingly, it was Joe Biden who raised the bounty for Maduro’s arrest to $25 million in 2025 before leaving office — which was later increased to $50 million by President Trump.

“Regardless of what Maduro has done, I don’t think the situation is just, and I don’t think America has the right to act as global policemen,” one Albuquerque protester told KOAT during a march that began near Robinson Park and continued toward Civic Plaza, despite many of them supporting armament of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and other global wars. The actions in Venezuela were not in any way acts of war, and if they were, there would be counter-offensives. However, those don’t exist.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez of the Second Congressional District erroneously claimed Trump committed an “act of war” in a lengthy statement, equating the capture of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan dictator to wars in the Middle East.

Hundreds of demonstrators carried picket signs and chalked slogans along city sidewalks, arguing that the United States acted unlawfully and accusing the federal government of misusing taxpayer dollars. Protester Samuel Walling told KOAT he believed the operation had nothing to do with crime or security.

“I mean, supposedly terrorism, but we’re mainly there to get oil,” Walling said, without evidence. “That’s how I see it personally.”

While activists in New Mexico decried the operation, KOAT reported that reactions elsewhere in the country were far more supportive. In Pasadena, California, Venezuelan expatriate Amara Barroeta described the moment as long-awaited accountability for a regime accused of crushing political opposition and fueling international drug trafficking.

“This is a moment that we have been waiting for for many, many years,” Barroeta told KOAT. “We’ve fought for many years for our freedom, and we’re glad that there’s help.”

Back in New Mexico, protesters also argued that federal funds should be spent domestically rather than on international enforcement actions. “A bunch of people at this park right now are literally homeless,” protester Keegan Kloer said. “I think that’s a terrible way to spend money,” according to KOAT’s coverage. It is unclear if Kloer and others will denounce the wasted funds on global freebies, such as those with the now-defunct USAID alleged grifting scheme, which was dismantled by President Trump.

But the loudest reaction came not from the streets, but from the Roundhouse.

House Speaker Javier Martínez unleashed a social media tirade, calling the capture a “kidnapping” and accusing President Trump of acting out of greed and distraction rather than law enforcement.

“This isn’t about drugs. It’s not even about Maduro being a dictator,” Martínez wrote on Facebook. “This is about Venezuela’s oil… Period.”

In a follow-up post, Martínez escalated his rhetoric further, calling Trump and his administration “reckless” and “idiotic,” while speculating—without evidence—that Cuba would be “next.”

Critics quickly pointed out that Martínez’s statements ignore the unsealed federal indictment against Maduro, which alleges decades of large-scale cocaine trafficking into the United States, partnerships with cartels and terrorist groups, and the use of Venezuela’s government infrastructure to facilitate narco-terrorism.

As protests continue and Democrat leaders, such as Second Congressional District U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, remain openly hostile to the operation, the divide in New Mexico mirrors a broader national split—between those who view Maduro’s capture as overdue accountability and those who appear more outraged by Trump than by the alleged crimes of a foreign drug lord now facing U.S. justice.