US EditionAfter Maduro and What the Venezuela Move Means
The operation was framed as counternarcotics but aimed at strategic economic and geopolitical goals, disrupting Venezuelan drug networks temporarily, U.S. officials said.
- On Jan. 3, 2026, U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and moved him to U.S. custody, escorting him in handcuffs to the New York federal courthouse.
- The administration framed the raid as counternarcotics, citing Venezuelan drug trafficking, but analysts say strategic economic and geopolitical goals drove the U.S. action.
- Months of buildup included a months-long U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean and repeated strikes preceding the capture, while U.S. indictments expanded the 'Cartel de los Soles' label before the Department of Justice revised some claims two days after.
- Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president in Caracas, creating a semi-power vacuum and political instability while opening pathways for external investment and political change.
- Despite counternarcotics rhetoric, energy incentives are highlighted by President Donald Trump's Jan. 9, 2026 meeting with oil and gas executives, while traffickers adapt as U.S. opioid crises stem mainly from Mexico and Asia.
12 Articles
12 Articles
The ‘drug threat’ that justified the US ouster of Maduro won’t be fixed by his arrest
This isn't going to stop in the U.S. just because Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested. Floris Leeuwenberg, Corbis Documentary/Getty ImagesDonald Trump has flagged Venezuelan drug trafficking as a key reason for the U.S. military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, that captured President Nicolás Maduro and whisked him to New York to face federal drug charges. Trump has described Maduro as “the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible f…
Trump Halts Second Wave of Venezuela Strikes As Global Outrage Grows Over Maduro Abduction
This article was originally published by Patrick Lewis at Natural News under the title: Trump Halts Second Wave of Venezuela Strikes Amid Claims of Cooperation, as Global Outrage Grows Over Maduro Abduction Despite Trump’s denial of imminent strikes, the U.S. deployed a massive military force (USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group, F-35Bs, drones, and 10,000 troops) near Venezuela under the pretext of targeting drug networks, while analysts suspect …
After Maduro and what the Venezuela move means
No one with a pulse can really have been surprised at recent events in Venezuela. The USA telegraphed its intent for months before finally taking action. We all knew something was going to happen, if not exactly what. Now Maduro and his wife are in US custody and a semi-power vacuum prevails in Caracas, with Trump mumbling something incomprehensible, probably even to himself, about the USA “going in and taking over”. We’ll see. Setting aside the…
Delcy Rodríguez took over Venezuela a week ago in the absence of Nicolás Maduro and in this time he has shown a gradual opening of the Chavista government with open negotiations on oil, political prisoners and the discussion about the reopening of the United States Embassy in Caracas. The White House has left in its hands this first period of “stabilization” in which the future of the country is uncertain. Many wonder who it is going to surround…
"They trust Delcy, the team at the front and us. That was the message they sent us yesterday," Maduro Guerra declared during a mobilization of the transportation sector in Caracas.
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