Photo by The Global Panorama on Creative Commons
The Trump Administration seems to believe that America has rightful authority over South America, especially with “America” being included in its name. Recently, Trump has backed such thoughts with actions.
For months, the Trump administration has placed extreme pressure on former President Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan government for drug trafficking, even insisting Maduro to voluntarily step down as president. After seeing a lack of success, the US intervened. On the early morning of Saturday January 3rd, 2026, Elite Forces entered Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, to conduct a military raid in what Trump titled the “Operation Absolute Resolve.” In this raid, the United States successfully captured Nicolas Maduro along with his wife Cilia Flores who were transported to New York to face a trial. Currently, both Maduro and Flores are charged with narco-terrorism, involvement with the importation of cocaine, and the possession of machine guns against the United States.
However, beyond the successful capture itself, the future remains unknown for Venezuelans, Americans, and the entire international community. Considering that this historical event marks the end of Maduro’s 13 years of dictatorial rule in Venezuela, it becomes imperative that we understand the changes that are bound to happen in Venezuela and globally.
1: Power in Venezuela
On Maduro’s flight to New York, the Trump administration made it certain for his helicopter to pass by the glowing Statue of Liberty, representing the freedom that individuals cherish as American citizens. Unfortunately, the message that Trump attempted to send has not resonated with everyone, especially the existing Venezuelan government with current interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.
In a press conference on January 3rd, 2026 after announcing the capture of Nicolas Maduro, Donald Trump has publicly stated that the United States will temporarily “run” Venezuela with his plan to designate members of his cabinet to fulfill the roles. Primarily, Trump has expressed his intentions to rebuild the crumbling infrastructure of Venezuela. An article from the New Humanitarian quantifies that the loss of infrastructure in Venezuela has caused a catastrophic crisis: 86% of the country cannot purchase food or clean water and resources for healthcare continue to deteriorate.
On the contrary, former Vice President and current interim leader of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez delivered a speech that contradicted the majority of US President Trump’s words. Following the raid, Rodriguez announced: “There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros” and that Venezuela will never be a colony to any empire, including the United States.
The opposing views of the Trump administration and the existing government of Venezuela leaves the balance of power as a question. Without a common consensus as to which group or country will run Venezuela in the near future, uncertainty will only continue to rise, igniting further conflicts between the US and Venezuelan government and potentially worsening the ongoing crisis for worrying citizens.
2: Oil Industry
The Council on Foreign Relations contextualizes that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, with over 300 billion barrels of oil and accounting for 17-18% of global oil reserves. As a result, Venezuela receives profits of over four billion dollars annually, despite heavy sanctions from the United States.
President Trump has expressed desires to control the oil industry in Venezuela. To justify his actions, Trump has claimed that during Hugo Chavez’s presidency, Venezuela’s government stole the US’ oil, which allowed Maduro’s government to significantly profit and solidify their power. As a result, Donald Trump has already placed extreme pressure on Venezuela with months of military buildup in the Southern Caribbean to urge Maduro to step down as president. The recent raid marks the most direct actions from the US to gain control of Venezuela and their oil industry. In the press conference, Donald Trump also stated that as the US would run Venezuela, the US would also have the authority to run Venezuela’s oil production. Especially because there is not a common agreement of who will be in power, such claims only leave the economies of both the United States and Venezuela in a state of uncertainty.
3: International Law
Following the raid, Delcy Rodriguez and the Venezuelan government have called for an immediate meeting with the UN Security Council that will take place on Monday, January 5th with the title “The US Threat to International Peace and Stability.” Venezuela’s government has made it clear that the US raid was an act that disrupted peace and stable relations. However, it seems like there are even more significant implications for the United State’s actions.
The Guardian reports 22 hours after the raid that the attack was not sufficiently backed by international law to uphold peace on the international scale. Additionally, the US Congress has yet to authorize or ban Trump’s actions. This leaves a gray area as to whether or not the United States followed international law with the recent attack, leaving the US to face condemnation. Already, global powers like Russia and China have criticized the US for intervening in Venezuela’s governmental structure and organization. Such rhetoric from the international community only exacerbates instability.
Even more importantly, the message that the raid sends to the international community is catastrophic. Back in 2022 when Putin invaded Ukraine, the US condemned Russia for using force to overthrow a government and take control. Unfortunately, the US is falling in the same hole with their recent use of force to overthrow Maduro and take over the Venezuelan government. In the far future, this allows other international groups, countries, and leaders to follow the same justification for forcefully exerting power, leading to risks of heightened escalation and conflict on the international scale.
The call for the capture of Maduro and Flores caught the entire world by surprise. Seeing how existing tensions led to the raid, the future for Venezuela, America, and the entire security of the international community remains unknown. But if one thing is certain, it is clear that the international community must be aware of the instability that conflicts can cause on the global scale.
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