The “targeted law enforcement operation in Venezuela on January 3” refers to a large U.S. military raid, code‑named Operation Absolute Resolve, in which U.S. forces carried out airstrikes around Caracas and a special‑forces assault on President Nicolás Maduro’s residence at Fort Tiuna, captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and flew them to New York to face U.S. “narco‑terrorism” and cocaine‑trafficking charges. The Trump administration has described this as a law‑enforcement action to arrest indicted fugitives, even though many governments and legal experts say it was an illegal military attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty.
In this context, “narcoterrorism” is a U.S. legal and political term for drug‑related crimes that are treated as linked to terrorism. U.S. prosecutors accuse Nicolás Maduro and his network of using the Venezuelan state to traffic cocaine to the United States and of using violence and intimidation around that trade. The January 3 operation is framed by Washington as arresting “narcoterrorists” because Maduro and his wife were indicted in New York on charges including narco‑terrorism conspiracy and cocaine‑importation conspiracy.
Pablo Quirno Magrane is an Argentine economist and politician who serves as Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (foreign minister) under President Javier Milei. As foreign minister he is the country’s top diplomat, responsible for Argentina’s foreign policy, its relations with other governments (including the U.S.), and representing Argentina in international forums.
The State Department readout only says Rubio “thanked” Quirno for Argentina’s continued cooperation against narcoterrorism and for regional security, without listing specific actions. Public reporting on the January 3 operation indicates Argentina politically backed the U.S. action and was among the governments that publicly praised Maduro’s capture, but there is no detailed, credible open‑source evidence that Argentina provided concrete military assets or operational support beyond diplomatic alignment and intelligence or law‑enforcement cooperation that has not been described publicly.
Tommy Pigott, as Principal Deputy Spokesperson in the State Department’s Office of the Spokesperson, is a senior communications official authorized to speak on behalf of the Department and the Secretary of State. When a readout is described as “attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott,” it means he is officially conveying the Department’s approved account of the call; he does not make policy himself but communicates and explains decisions taken by the Secretary and other senior officials.
The readout does not announce any specific future joint operations. It signals that the U.S. and Argentina intend to keep cooperating against drug‑related crime and “narcoterrorism” in the Western Hemisphere, and Argentina’s government has publicly supported the U.S. move against Maduro, but whether this will lead to concrete new joint actions (such as shared operations, sanctions, or patrols) has not been detailed publicly as of now.