If you’re anything like me, you’ve been taking a crash course in Venezuelan politics in recent days. America’s relationship with Venezuela has been a dumpster fire for more than two decades, but before now, the American government tended to try less visible methods of regime change and coups. Since 2013, Nicolas Maduro has been “president” of Venezuela. Up until Saturday, January 3, 2026. That was when Donald Trump decided to down a fistful of aspirin and ten Big Macs, and then he ordered strikes across Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife. Apparently, Maduro is now in American custody.
President Donald Trump has launched military strikes in Venezuela in an effort to dismantle the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Having accused the Venezuelan president of drug-related crimes, Trump, 79, confirmed the order of “large-scale strikes” in the region and the capture of Maduro, 63, in a statement on Truth Social on Saturday, Jan. 3.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” wrote Trump. “This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.”
Trump ordered airstrikes on various sites in Venezuela early morning on Saturday, including the capital, Caracas, and on military bases, officials told CBS News and the BBC. This comes as the U.S. military presence has recently increased in the region, with several warships positioned in the Caribbean. Maduro is accused by Trump of drug trafficking and “forcing” migration to the US. The Venezuelan president is also accused of using oil money to fund his alleged drug-related crimes, all of which he has denied, per CBS News.
Maduro isn’t exactly “forcing” migration to the US – Venezuela has been largely a failed state for over a decade, and Venezuelans have fled their country in a steady stream for years, seeking work and stability. They’re not solely coming to the US, they’re also migrating to Mexico and they’re going to neighboring South American countries. So, America has “invaded” Venezuela and deposed their leader. What happens now? Well, Donald Trump has some spectacularly half-assed plans.
President Trump said on Saturday that the United States had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and was taking him to New York to face criminal charges, the stunning culmination of a monthslong campaign by his administration to oust the authoritarian leader. The United States would “run” the country until a proper transition of power could be arranged, the president said hours later, raising the prospect of an open-ended commitment.
Mr. Trump offered few details about how the United States would oversee Venezuela, saying only that an unspecified “group” would do so. It was not clear whether that would involve an occupying military force, although Mr. Trump said he was not afraid of “boots on the ground.”
Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, had spoken to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and told him she was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida. But Ms. Rodríguez earlier denounced the U.S. operation on state television, calling it a “brutal attack.”
While Mr. Trump said little about how the United States would be “running” Venezuela, he insisted it “won’t cost us anything” because American oil companies would rebuild the energy infrastructure in Venezuela, which holds vast reserves of oil.
“We are going to run the country right,″ Mr. Trump said as he turned to oil. “It’s going to make a lot of money.” Past Venezuelan governments, he said, “stole our oil” — an apparent reference to the country’s nationalization of its oil industry.
“Don’t worry, we’re going to turn it into a corporate-run petrostate with zero oversight” is not a plan. Speaking of oversight… Trump did not get any kind of congressional authorization for this. In fact, many Democrats on the House and Senate Foreign Relations committees are saying that the Trump administration kept them completely in the dark about all of this. It’s kind of crazy for Trump’s position to be “we’re going to charge Maduro with crimes” whilst committing dozens of war crimes and American crimes.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
