Venezuela - US Conflict: News, Updates

[ghazi52]

Shocked Venezuelans hunker down, unsure of what comes next​

Reuters
January 3, 2026



A car drives on an empty street, after US President Donald Trump said the US has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026.

Venezuelan security forces patrolle largely empty streets at dawn in the capital, Caracas, on Saturday, hours after loud explosions woke residents to the news that US commandos had bombed the country and captured President Nicolas Maduro.

Streets close to the Miraflores presidential palace were deserted except for checkpoints manned by uniformed gunmen, as residents expressed their shock at a US military strike that left them guessing who was now in charge of the oil-rich nation.

Smoke streaked the sky, with a dark plume still billowing from the direction of the Port of La Guaira to the north, while another was visible near an air base in the capital.

 

[Watandar]

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I remember watching a clip of some important shindig some years ago and this lady was on a panel, talking about how the US had neglected Latin America, how China was investing heavily there and how all this could negatively impact the US down the road. I should have figured out then that Venezuela regime change was being introduced to the US elites and public.

 

[jamal18]

Always the same. I’d assume the US purchased intel and some stooges too.

I think subversion, bribery and political manipulation is the new strategy.

Military action is simply the last phase.

 

[ghazi52]

Who is Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president?​

Trump, whose government has accused Maduro of running drug cartels and other crimes, had been pressuring the strongman to leave office for months.

Reuters | News Desk
January 3, 2026

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been in power for nearly 12 years, saw his rule come to a sudden end earlier today.

After a lightning raid on Caracas, President Donald Trump said Maduro had been captured by US forces on Saturday.

Trump, whose government has accused the Venezuelan president of running drug cartels and other crimes, had been pressuring the strongman to leave office for months.

Maduro was born into a working-class family on November 23, 1962, the son of a trade union leader. He worked as a bus driver during the time army officer Hugo Chavez led a failed coup attempt in 1992.

He campaigned for Chavez’s release from prison and became a fervent supporter of his leftist agenda. According to a BBC report, Maduro held a long and close association with Chavez, which dates back to Chavez’s imprisonment.

Maduro won a seat in the legislature following Chavez’s 1998 election.

In the years that followed, he rose to become president of the National Assembly and then foreign minister, travelling the globe to build international alliances through oil-financed assistance programs.

Maduro, who likes to chug green juices at campaign events, citing their health properties, is heir to his late mentor. In 2012, Chávez named him as his hand-picked successor, and Maduro was narrowly elected president in 2013 following his death.

During his tenure, his administration oversaw a spectacular economic collapse characterised by hyperinflation and chronic shortages. His rule became best known for allegedly rigged elections, food shortages and rights abuses, including harsh crackdowns on protests in 2014 and 2017.

 

[FuturePAF]

Columbia’s president is probably hoping Trump doesn’t know about this agreement by the Columbian generals with Venezuela:

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[ghazi52]

Millions of Venezuelans emigrated abroad. In 2016, following the release of years of economic data, Maduro declared a state of economic emergency, followed by a constitutional state of emergency, as per a report by CNN.
According to a Reuters report from last year, the Venezuelan president has a flair for theatrics, and often calls opposition politicians “fascist demons” and “the surnames,” the latter a jibe at their supposedly wealthy backgrounds.

Critics both at home and abroad say he is a dictator who has jailed or persecuted political opponents, repeatedly and unfairly blocking opposition candidates from participating in elections.

In 2020, Maduro‘s government was subject to aggressive sanctions by the US and other powers as Washington indicted him on corruption and other charges.

According to the US Department of State, an initial reward offer of up to $15 million was placed for Maduro’s capture, which was revised in August 2025 to $50m. Maduro has rejected the accusations.

In January 2025, he was sworn in for a third term following a 2024 election that was widely condemned by international observers and the opposition as fraudulent. Thousands of people who protested the government’s declaration of victory were jailed.

Last month, a UN Fact-Finding Mission found that the country’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity over more than a decade in targeting political opponents, often with impunity.

Maduro’s government’s repressive measures were also highlighted by the award of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

 

[Bilal]

I remember watching a clip of some important shindig some years ago and this lady was on a panel, talking about how the US had neglected Latin America, how China was investing heavily there and how all this could negatively impact the US down the road. I should have figured out then that Venezuela regime change was being introduced to the US elites and public.

So how is Chinese investment a good thing for anyone? They extract full returns and never back anyone when shit hits the fan.

 

[KingQamaR]

Pax Americana, sphere of influence indeed. The real test will be when Trump tries to push Chinese business interests out of Latin America; namely the Panama Canal and that large new port in Peru. China says it won’t budge. Perhaps China will trade them for US (and its vassals) standing down as China reunifies with Taiwan.

So I guess Venezuela's , China and Russia were all just lying and bluffing about defending the sovereignty and their interests. I don’t think China can counter any US aggression in South America.

 

[jamal18]

Pax Americana, sphere of influence indeed. The real test will be when Trump tries to push Chinese business interests out of Latin America; namely the Panama Canal and that large new port in Peru. China says it won’t budge. Perhaps China will trade them for US (and its vassals) standing down as China reunifies with Taiwan.

For a purely military point of view, very impressive op by the military, especially the 160th guys with their chinooks; in and out quick.

China has no options. It is not a global player and has no force projection.

The US can take over every Chinese project in Latam and the Chinese can do zilch militarily.

 

[Bilal]

China has no options. It is not a global player and has no force projection.

The US can take over every Chinese project in Latam and the Chinese can do zilch militarily.

So betting on China is basically a bad call.

 

[Viet]

Let me guess socialists and Muslims are evil?

Look old pictures of Venezuela.
actually it’s stupidity. Dumb people kill their countries and people. Maduro is on the same level with Pol Pot and Putin and many others.
The US will make Venezuela to a colony.
This thread can be closed.

 

[FuturePAF]

Renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America was not prolific, just declarity:

 

[Watandar]

So how is Chinese investment a good thing for anyone? They extract full returns and never back anyone when shit hits the fan.

Well the Chinese investments are not at the barrel of a gun, and they are a chance for the target country to transform itself, if they have any brains. The Chinese have done a poor job of explaining their vision behind Belt and Road. Pakistan is among those countries that has misread what CPEC or Belt and Road were really about, to build the required infrastructure, not only physical but human capital that the country can use to progress. Of course the Chinese get to build influence and will also extract benefits. Braindead Pakistan unfortunately is wasting the CPEC opportunity, just like many other opportunities offered to it in the past.

The US simply sees China as a new reason to fund its bloated MIC. The US doesn't give an F about Venezuelans or Iraqis or Pakistanis.

 

[KingQamaR]

American Empire strikes again. And successfully,

 

[jamal18]

So betting on China is basically a bad call.

No. Depends on Logistics.

For Pakistan it is perfect. Look at the map.