Israel is a marginal, almost peripheral player when it comes to the fall of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. Latin America is not Israel’s arena, and the country now seemingly on the verge of liberation from dictatorship was not an immediate Israeli enemy. 

Still, Israel stands to gain significantly from the American commando operation at the presidential palace in Caracas. A likely change of government would almost certainly pull Venezuela out of the anti-Israel axis. For decades, under Maduro and before him Hugo Chávez, Venezuela maintained a deep alliance with Iran. This included close security cooperation, economic assistance, joint sanctions evasion, and coordinated political backing — alongside China and Russia — against the United States. These ties intensified during Israel’s recent wars, including reported Venezuelan financial support for Hezbollah after it suffered major blows from Israel.

If Venezuela indeed becomes a stable democracy, it would mark another brick falling from the Iranian axis — this time through US action in Latin America. For Israel, that alone is major strategic news.