Venezuela - President Nicolas Maduro & his wife "captured and flown out of country" by U.S. Army Delta Force during "large scale attack" - Jan 3, 2026

[nhmemorymaker]

From your link -

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the removal of President Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, writing in an X post that Maduro "gravely undermined the dignity of his own people."

But Macron was in favor of ...

"We hope that President Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, elected in 2024, will be able to ensure this transition as quickly as possible," he added.

Macron Says Venezuela's Gonzalez Urrutia Should Lead Post-Maduro Transition

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said that 2024 presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia should lead a peaceful transition in Venezuela, adding its people "could only rejoice" at the removal by the US of President Nicolas Maduro.

www.barrons.com

 

[ZaZara]

Emmanuel Macron, President of France:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2007520035766509829

The Venezuelan people are now free from Nicolás Maduro's dictatorship and can only rejoice.

By seizing power and trampling on fundamental freedoms, Nicolás Maduro has seriously undermined the dignity of his own people.

The transition ahead must be peaceful, democratic and respectful of the will of the Venezuelan people. We hope that President Edmundo González Urrutia, elected in 2024, will be able to ensure this transition as quickly as possible.

I am currently in talks with our partners in the region.

France is fully mobilised and vigilant, particularly to ensure the safety of its nationals in these uncertain days.


BBM

 

[Hexe]

From what I've watched in the media as Venezuela's people are weeping with joy and celebrating, they seem to have a completely different take on the situation.

That does not change the fact US of A broke international law big time.

 

[branmuffin]

I wouldn't describe Venezuela as "tiny". It's estimated population in 2023 was over 30m, and this is after millions of its citizens fled the country, and it used to be the richest country in Latin America until it caught the disease of socialism.

Venezuela's downfall has been a long time coming. Venezuela suffered from Dutch disease which is relying on one product in their basket to prop up the country financially: oil and ignoring other sectors making them decline. Nationalizing resources and corruption added to their economic demise.

 

[Sundog]

The Biden administration had a $25 million reward for the arrest or conviction of Maduro, and the current administration increased it to $50 million. The U.S. criminal charges against Maduro were the same under both administrations, I assume, and now Maduro will face these charges in U.S. court.

The Biden U.S. Department of State and the Trump U.S. Department of State announced the reward money and charges against Maduro.

Technical Difficulties

 

[Sundog]

If I was running Canada or Denmark I would be looking at how things have gone down in Ukraine and building 100 million drones and buying up the world's supply of manpads.

Anyway, the current escapade is straight out of the New York mobster playbook. Take out your smaller rival and incorporate his organisation into yours.

Noriega was prosecuted in Miami 37 years ago and served time in U.S. prison. Now we'll see the same thing with Maduro as he faces criminal charges against him in New York.

 

[branmuffin]

Physical oil reserves are not the be-all-and-end-all. What matters is whether they can be got out of the ground at a cost which allows them to be sold at a profit on the open market. In some countries, the cost of production is as low as $20 a barrel but in Venezuela's case the previously known reserves cost over $100 per barrel to produce due to particularly difficult geology. As such, with the current oil price of around $60 per barrel the country was making a loss on every barrel sold. However, if that is your only export and your only source of foreign currency you may be prepared to produce and sell at a loss.

What seems to have changed recently is that additional reserves have been found in the country and are thought to be economically viable.

Plus back in the day it was the Arab nations who would set the price of oil maker it higher while Venezuela wanted lower prices. The irony is not lost on me that Venezuela was the founding member of OPEC.

 

[ZaZara]

Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2007515442705838275

I have been following developments in Venezuela since the very beginning.

Italy, together with its main international partners, has never recognised Maduro's self-proclaimed election victory, condemning the regime's acts of repression and consistently supporting the Venezuelan people's aspiration for a democratic transition.

In line with Italy's long-standing position, the Government believes that external military action is not the way to end totalitarian regimes, but at the same time considers defensive intervention against hybrid attacks on its security to be legitimate, as in the case of state entities that fuel and promote drug trafficking.

We continue to monitor the situation of the Italian community in Venezuela with particular attention, as their safety is the Government's top priority.


BBM

 

[LAborn]

From what I've watched in the media as Venezuela's people are weeping with joy and celebrating, they seem to have a completely different take on the situation.

Time will tell. They don't realize they're going from the frying pan into the fire yet.

 

[branmuffin]

Well the war on drugs is just a pretext. This is because of his political affiliation.

His affiliation with Russia? Russia and the US are besties these days. This is all about natural resources.

 

[Sundog]

But Macron was in favor of ...

"We hope that President Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, elected in 2024, will be able to ensure this transition as quickly as possible," he added.

Macron Says Venezuela's Gonzalez Urrutia Should Lead Post-Maduro Transition

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said that 2024 presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia should lead a peaceful transition in Venezuela, adding its people "could only rejoice" at the removal by the US of President Nicolas Maduro.

www.barrons.com

That may happen in time, we will see.

 

[Hexe]

Noriega was prosecuted in Miami 37 years ago and served time in U.S. prison. Now we'll see the same thing with Maduro as he faces criminal charges against in New York.

The legality of Noriega's capture was also highly dubious.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Being against US illegally invading another sovereign state, kidnapping it's president as bad as he is, and announcing taking over said state's national resources, so being against the above is NOT defending Maduro.

so true.
I have seen no one defend Maduro.
BUT all this lead-up of "getting drugs off the streets, by bombing all those ships, killing many Venezuelans has all been such a ruse, imo.
Have we all just been numb, blindsided, or just ignorant. moo, of course.
But I really do feel offended here...... lies to deflect from what was really happening.
Its pretty da*mn hard to even know what to believe, let alone think.
It just feels so slimy to be led to believe one thing.......

Its not like the "emporor has no clothes", its like our "nation has no clothes".
are we all naked or something???

oh of course, moo. But really!

 

[nhmemorymaker]

That may happen in time, we will see.

Not according to DT's language.....

We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Mr. Trump told reporters.
The president said "we don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years."
The president outlined that "all Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with U.S. law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night."

U.S. strikes Venezuela and captures Maduro; Trump says "we're going to run the country" for now

After the U.S. carried out an attack inside Venezuela, President Trump said Nicolás Maduro was captured and flown out. Trump said the U.S. would "run" Venezuela temporarily.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Ontario Mom]

Time will tell. They don't realize they're going from the frying pan into the fire yet.

I'll presume the decent folks of Venezuela know what's best for them and their country.

 

[branmuffin]

This is not neo-colonialism. This arresting an illegitamate leader who was indicted in US Courts 5 years ago. This hopefully will open a new chapter for the Venezuelan people to once again be a wealthy people. No question that Maduro's reign was brutal to the Venezuelan people

Now, a PRC invasion of Taiwan, THAT would be true neo-colonialism.

Why is it that the US can unilaterally give themselves authority to arrest a foreign official for being brutal to their people and it's called justice yet in the same breath Trump casually mentions the US will be running the country. If that doesn't smack of neo-colonialism I don't know what does.

 

[LAborn]

I'll presume the decent folks of Venezuela know what's best for them and their country.

Of course they do, but my point is will they be able to do what's best for themselves and their country? Or will predatory players usurp their ability? Americans have seen this before, we can't play ignorant. JMO

 

[branmuffin]

Update from David E. Sanger

www.nytimes.com

“We are going to run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said, suggesting an occupation. The United States has done this before, in Germany, in Japan, and of course Iraq. But the history is checkered.

You can't even compare Germany and Japan to this. Not even close.

 

[Yellowbelly]

Now, we should know by now that Mr Trump cares little for such legal niceties as due process, but isn't the first point the defence are going to make at Maduro's first court appearance going to be that there needs to have been a legally valid arrest warrant. After that there's the question of a legally valid extradition process and the Sovereign Immunity of heads of state.

 

[LAborn]

You can't even compare Germany and Japan to this. Not even close.

Can you elaborate? Thanks.