Ana Navarro Claims Trump's 'Ego' Was the Driving Force Behind Shock Capture Of Nicolás Maduro — 'He Doesn’t Give A Damn About The Venezuelan People'
Ana Navarro had choice words for both Donald Trump and Nicolás Maduro during The View's first show of 2026.
Jan. 5 2026, Published 7:45 p.m. ET
The View's Ana Navarro is deeply conflicted over the arrest of narco-trafficking Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, calling it an "ego" trip for Donald Trump but a victorious day for the people of the South American country, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Navarro's viewpoint clashed somewhat with her panelists, including Sunny Hostin, who railed Trump's actions of sending a Delta Force team into Caracas to extract Maduro and his wife were "completely, completely, 100 percent illegal."
Maduro's Arrest 'Not About The Venezuelan People'
Navarro was critical of Trump's motives for wanted to take Maduro into U.S. custody.
"I don't think this is at all about the Venezuelan people. Donald Trump doesn’t give a d--- about the Venezuelan people," Navarro claimed during the Hot Topics segment on Monday, January 5, on The View's first show of the new year.
"If he did, he wouldn’t be taking away temporary protective status from 600,000. He wouldn’t be arresting the Venezuelans who are seeking asylum here. He wouldn’t be maligning the entire community and sending hundreds of Venezuelans to a hellhole prison in El Salvador," she continued, referring to the infamous CECOT facility where Trump has sent some Tren de Aragua gang members deported from the U.S.
'This Is A Lot About Donald Trump's Ego'
Trump spoke at a January 3 news conference announcing Maduro's arrest.
"I think this is a lot about Donald Trump's ego. I think he thought it was going to be easier to get rid of Maduro," Navarro raged about the president's motives.
Unlike the opinion of some of her Democrat counterparts, the political strategist shared, "I don't think this is regime change because the regime is still there. He got rid of the head. He got rid of the titular head, which is Maduro, and he gets the biggest trophy there is," Navarro said of Trump while noting that Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, is now the interim leader of Venezuela.
Navarro also huffed "Donald Trump gives a damn about drugs," referring to how the president said the top reason for going after Maduro was because he was running a narco state, pumping illegal drugs such as fentanyl and cocaine into the U.S., resulting in the deaths of thousands of Americans.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on the day of Maduro's arrest that he and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been indicted in the Southern District of New York and charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and several machine gun-related counts. The dictator professed his innocence during a Monday arraignment.
Maduro's Arrest 'Brought Me to Tears'
Navarro said Maduro's arrest 'brought me great joy.'
Navarro became emotional when discussing what Maduro's removal, as her own family fled political turmoil in her native Nicaragua when she was a child.
"Who voted for this? The people in South Florida. The Venezuelan community, the Cuban-American community, and the Nicaraguan community voted for this," she asserted, referring to the various communities displaced by despotic rulers in their home countries.
“For us, this is a very, very happy day. When we see a dictator who has been part of oppressing and abusing the Venezuelan people for 25 years in handcuffs and held to some sort of accountability, it brought me to tears. It brought me great joy," Navarro cheered.
'Both Things Can Be True'
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Navarro said she felt it was okay to have questions about Maduro's arrest while still celebrating it.
Hostin, 57, pressed Navarro if she was "okay with the way that it was done," referring to the U.S. extracting Maduro by force from Venezuela and bringing him to the U.S. to face charges.
"I think both things can be true," the CNN analyst retorted.
Navarro explained, "I think you can criticize and ask questions, and have concerns about the way it was done and what this means in the future, right? And I think you can still celebrate that this murderous, corrupt, sadistic son of a b---- is out of Venezuela."
