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

[katydid23]

(from your linked article)

International Group analyst Phil Gunson ..... "Venezuela is full of armed groups that would resist the regime's collapse and undermine any effort to restore the rule of law. Generals currently loyal to Maduro might install an even more repressive leader.

"Without a viable strategy for what comes after the government falls, ousting Maduro could lead to even greater repression and hardship for Venezuelans."

Trump's blatant disregard for international law is one thing. The reaction is another

Even in a world that has grown used to a cavalier attitude to international law from Donald Trump, the move stuns leaders across the globe.

www.abc.net.au

I don't think that is going to happen. The US is going to stand by while the new government takes over. IMO

 

[otto]

I don't think that is going to happen. The US is going to stand by while the new government takes over. IMO

What if the government continues as is, and refuses to allow the US to invade and steal resources?

 

[katydid23]

Actually, the US played a role in making them suffer economically because we were trying to force out their leader. We haven’t been helping. We were doing it to take control of their oil because we didn’t like their leftist style of government. To be fair, Trump is not the only US president who has treated Venezuela badly.

We were forcing out their leader because Maduro killed 20, 000 civilians who opposed his regime.

He was forced out because his people were living in misery. The economic suffering began way before we stepped in. IMO

 

[katydid23]

What if the government continues as is, and refuses to allow the US to invade and steal resources?

The vast majority of civilians won't let that happen anymore. They have a voice now and they will use it. imo

 

[katydid23]

Trump is not planning to steal resources. He wants to set a new government in place that will be our allies. It will be a positive relationship. Not an adversarial one, imo.

 

[303gmf]

I assume that Vice President Vance would become President if something happened to incapacitate our President.

Worst nightmare

 

[HmmMysterious]

Trump is not planning to steal resources. He wants to set a new government in place that will be our allies. It will be a positive relationship. Not an adversarial one, imo.

He literally said on live tv that he wants Venezuela's oil. This isn't 2003. Nobody's fooled by this neo-con propaganda bs.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2007496622696214801

 

[SouthAussie]

What if the government continues as is, and refuses to allow the US to invade and steal resources?

I can easily envision this turning into another Iraq or Afghanistan. US military will come in to protect the oil takeover (as linked before), one or more of the guerrilla groups will kill some of the US military ... and it will begin.

I hope not. But it is easy to envision.

imo

 

[TootsieFootsie]

MSN

Trump's 'peace prize' called into question after Venezuela attack​

​

 

[Betty P]

We were forcing out their leader because Maduro killed 20, 000 civilians who opposed his regime.

He was forced out because his people were living in misery. The economic suffering began way before we stepped in. IMO

It took 30 years of the U.S. meddling in the affairs of Venezuela for things to reach that point. Thirty years of trying to damage their economy, cut off supplies, etc. to pressure them into giving up their resources. None of that was necessary. I know because I visited there during the 80s when their economy was healthy and the U.S. wasn’t meddling in their affairs. I still miss being able to buy their coffee. It was the best I’ve ever tasted. Hopefully, they can have a healthy government again, free from outside interference. Perhaps then they can resume coffee production.

 

[Hexe]

RSBM

It shouldn't matter. If everyone is reporting the truth, the sources would all be reporting the exact same thing.

The thing is they do not report the same thing.

 

[Betty P]

The thing is they do not report the same thing.

If it helps, lately Irely on a combination of news sources that include foreign news outlets from Canada, England, Australia, etc. The BBC, Sky News, The Guardian, etc. combined with PBS, NPR and other U.S. news sources are pretty good.

 

[Hexe]

They now have an opportunity to reclaim and rebuild their beautiful country.

How can they reclaim their country, when it is controlled by the US?

 

[Yellowbelly]

22 years ago I seem to recall American service personnel helping gleeful Iraqis tear down a statue of Saddam Hussein.

Attitudes amongst the Iraqi populace towards the Americans modified quite quickly thereafter.

Maduro clearly lost the last election, and a majority of Venezuelans want rid of the regime. The thing is, they aren't rid of the regime, they're only rid of Maduro. Even if Mr Trump does succeed in imposing Marco Rubio as some sort of Governor-General (which seems to be the current plan), a substanial minority of Venezuelans remain Chavistas. Are they going to go quietly into the night, or are they going to resist the takeover? This has the potential to get very messy, very quickly.

 

[Fika]

Well this is frightening. The implications from this will be far reaching. I’m questioning the legality of any of this…
Another war for oil.

As European I find it unsettling. Did he deserve to get arrested? Yes but not in this way. Now worried about Greenland…

 

[Mo Thuairim]

So presumably Maduro is not coming back any time soon. Will the US allow elections? Or will Venezuela's new benevolent overlords (and absolutely not oil thieves) handpick the next government?

Venezuelan VP to temporarily assume presidency

Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to become the country's interim leader, after the United States seized President Nicolas Maduro and whisked him out of the country.

The high court ruled that Ms Rodriguez "assume and exercise, in an acting capacity, all the attributes, duties and powers inherent to the office of President to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the nation"

The judges stopped short of declaring Mr Maduro permanently absent from office, a ruling that requires holding elections within 30 days.

Venezuelan VP to temporarily assume presidency

Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to become the country's interim leader, after the United States seized President Nicolas Maduro and whisked him out of the country.

www.rte.ie

 

[NuttMegg]

America’s strongman places a huge Venezuela wager but evokes nightmares of regime change disasters​

"But the swoop against Maduro was a stunner, and not just because the overthrow of a foreign leader is considered an act of war.

Trump’s entire political philosophy was rooted in avoiding any more US shock-and-awe operations to enforce overseas regime change after two decades of quagmires.

What happened to the plan to stop meddling in intractable foreign politics that the US doesn’t understand? Is “America First” over?

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/03/politics/trump-venezuela-maduro-analysis

 

[Mauig’ma]

Just because someone else does it doesn’t make it right for others to

 

[NuttMegg]

Venezuela's neighbor is a rising oil star​

"Next door to Venezuela is Guyana — a country that recently discovered over 10 billion barrels of oil and is a key emerging player in the international oil industry.

Guyana's oil is lighter than Venezuela's, less polluting, and has lower taxes than Venezuela, Monaldi says.

There's also no national oil company in Guyana, as there is in Venezuela."
------------

And ultimately, notes Kepes, if it's unclear who is in charge in Venezuela, oil companies will have concerns about the long-term viability of their contracts. "No one's going to start investing on the ground in a place where there's no legal contract and viable permission to operate or if there's concerns about political stability and violence," he says.

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/04/nx-s1-5665795/trump-us-oil-companies-venezuela

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Just because someone else does it doesn’t make it right for others to

Not just someone. Your president. Isn't he supposed to set an example for his citizens? Namecalling is a sport to him.