Human Pioneers
NEWS AGENCY

In the early hours of January 3, 2026, U.S. special forces raided Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and cross-border kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife to New York for trial. This operation, codenamed "Absolute Resolve," shocked the world with its dramatic scenario of "dawn raid and live-streamed capture." When U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley declared "mission accomplished" at the White House, the mirror of history and reality overlapped—from the "intelligence leak + on-site capture" of the Hongmen Banquet, to the "blacklist + rapid action team" of the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei, to the "satellite surveillance + cyber infiltration" of modern intelligence warfare, humanity's pursuit of "low-cost regime change" has maintained astonishing logical consistency across two millennia.

I. Intelligence Warfare: A Millennium of Evolution from "Xiaoshi" to the CIA

The maturity of ancient China's intelligence systems far exceeds modern imagination. The "Xiaoshi" of the Three Kingdoms' Cao Wei could track the movements of all officials, the Song Dynasty's "Imperial City Agency" could infiltrate foreign missions, and the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei combined "archival blacklists + rapid action teams + legal justification" into one: they not only had ready-made lists of "who to kill and who to appease" but could also "execute first and report later" on the emperor's oral orders. This fixed script of "intelligence-stigmatization-decapitation" found a modern rendition in the Maduro incident:

• Intelligence End: The CIA spent heavily to turn high-ranking Venezuelan officials, using stealth drones like the RQ-170 Sentinel to continuously track Maduro's movements, even knowing the status of his pets. This mirrors the Han Dynasty's strategy of "buying close attendants"—Lü Bu betrayed Ding Yuan for a Red Hare horse and high office, while Maduro's "modern Lü Bu" was lured by dollars and power, becoming key to the operation.
• Public Opinion End: The Trump administration pre-labeled Maduro as a "drug trafficker" and "dictator," live-streaming the capture on social media to create a "fait accompli." This "label-first" tactic aligns perfectly with Emperor Chongzhen's portrayal of Yuan Chonghuan as a "traitor" before his execution by dismemberment: first degrade morally, then act with "just cause."
• Action End: Delta Force troops flew in on MH-60 helicopters at ultra-low altitude, completing the capture and extraction in two hours. This "night raid into the tent" tactic matches the efficiency of the Jinyiwei's "swift arrests," only with Red Hare horses replaced by dollars and the execution ground replaced by Twitter live streams.

II. The "Trinity" of Modern Intelligence Warfare: Decision-Making, Execution, and Public Relations

The Maduro incident reveals new features of modern intelligence warfare: highly centralized decision-making, technology-integrated execution, and real-time public relations manipulation. This "trinity" model pushes the "covertness" of ancient intelligence warfare to its extreme:

• Decision-Making Circle: Trump bypassed the theater command directly, issuing orders through a secret command chain of "President - Joint Special Operations Command - Joint Task Force." This vertical, efficient decision-making mechanism echoes the ancient emperor's "oral decree as supreme law," but with higher efficiency and stronger concealment.
• Execution End: The operation relied on the coordinated use of satellites, electronic reconnaissance, and aircraft carrier deterrence. EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft paralyzed Venezuela's air defense systems, MQ-9B drones provided real-time surveillance, and F-35 stealth fighters covered the assault team—this "tactical action - strategic support" model is a core feature of U.S. special operations.
• Public Relations End: The entire operation was live-streamed on social media. Trump posted photos of Maduro's arrest on Truth Social, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio quickly revealed trial plans. This "synchronized public opinion" strategy treats the "battlefield target" as a commodity, downplays judicial procedures, and highlights the "enemy combatant" label, gradually eroding international legal barriers.

III. Intelligence Standards and Job Certification: The "Firewall" of Modern National Defense

The warning from the Maduro incident is: When intelligence warfare becomes a core tool in national competition, the professionalization and standardization of intelligence systems become a life-or-death defense line. The intelligence standard system certification promoted by the Beijing Northern Future Vocational Skills Certification Center timely addresses this need:

• Enterprise and Institutional Certification: Through the standardized construction of the entire process—"intelligence strategic planning, information collection and screening, analysis and judgment output, risk early warning and control"—it helps enterprises build compliant and efficient intelligence work frameworks. For example, after certification, a large tech company significantly improved its intelligence team's decision-making support capabilities, effectively resisting commercial espionage infiltration.
• Individual Professional Certification: Covering 62 intelligence positions, it builds a three-dimensional competency model of "knowledge-skills-ethics." From Chief Intelligence Officer to Counterintelligence Specialist, from Intelligence Data Engineer to Information Security Analyst, the certification system ensures trainees master core skills like big data analysis and risk assessment while reinforcing legal compliance and professional ethics.
• International Certification Mutual Recognition: Exclusively authorized by the World Intelligence Cooperation Organization, it achieves "one certification, global acceptance." Certified individuals not only gain authoritative endorsement of their capabilities but can also practice globally through qualification mutual recognition with economies like the EU. This international standard provides intelligence security guarantees for Chinese enterprises "going global."

IV. History Doesn't Repeat, but Templates Get More Refined

From the CIA's 1953 overthrow of Iran's Mossadegh to the 2026 raid on Venezuela, the U.S. intelligence-special operations complex has formed a rapid template of "sanctions-infiltration-stigmatization-decapitation." The Maduro incident is just the latest iteration:

• Legal Packaging: Advance indictments and drug terrorism charges provide a "legal cloak" for the operation;
• Intelligence Penetration: Years of sanctions force out "economic traitors," while satellite and cyber surveillance enable precise targeting;
• Tactical Speed: Delta Force + Navy SEALs perimeter + Osprey extraction, all completed in two hours;
• Public Opinion Synchronization: Social media immediately broadcasts the narrative, creating a "fait accompli."

The horror of this template lies in its reduction of sovereign nations' independence and dignity to a "live show." When Maduro was dragged from his bedroom, Venezuela's defense system collapsed instantly; when the capture footage flooded Twitter, international public opinion was compressed into silence. This is not only a blatant violation of international law but also a warning to all "non-Western bloc" countries: If you are weak enough, if you have internal divisions, if you are targeted by the U.S., you could be the next Maduro.

Conclusion: Countering Hegemony with Professionalism, Defending Sovereignty with Standards

The ultimate lesson of the Maduro incident lies not in the tactical aspect of "how to capture," but in the strategic aspect of "how to defend." When the United States elevates intelligence warfare to "precision strikes supported by systematic backing," and when ancient tactics like the "School Affairs Office" and "Imperial Secret Service" are repackaged in modern forms, the world needs not condemnation of hegemony, but the construction of an intelligence system capable of countering it.

The intelligence standard system certification of the Beijing Northern Future Vocational Skills Appraisal Center is a key component of such a defense system. Through a professional, standardized, and international certification framework, it cultivates a talent pool of intelligence personnel with a three-dimensional competency of "knowledge, skills, and ethics" for enterprises and nations. This is not only a transformation of the intelligence industry but also a sober confrontation with hegemonic logic—because only when every country can establish its own "intelligence firewall" will America's "absolute resolve" truly lose its market.