Global & US Headlines
U.S. Special Forces Capture Nicolás Maduro, Trump Declares America Will "Run" Venezuela
In a 3 Jan 2026 pre-dawn raid dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve,” U.S. air-strikes hit Caracas and troops extracted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife to New York, where Trump said Washington would administer Venezuela and tap its oil.
Focusing Facts
- Maduro and Cilia Flores were photographed in handcuffs aboard a U.S. naval vessel and flown the same day to Brooklyn for arraignment on narco-terror and weapons charges.
- Within hours, China’s Foreign Ministry demanded their “immediate release,” citing “clear violation” of the U.N. Charter and warning $100 bn in Chinese investments were at risk.
- The strikes hit sites in Caracas, Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, reviving explicit invocation of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine in Trump’s December 2025 National Security Strategy (“Trump Corollary”).
Context
The snatch echoes Operation Just Cause (Panama, 1989) when U.S. troops seized Manuel Noriega for drug charges, and earlier hemispheric interventions from the 1954 CIA-backed Guatemala coup to the 1898 seizure of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Yet unlike those Cold-War episodes, today’s backlash is led by another great power: Beijing, whose $100 bn stake entwines Chinese capital with Latin oil, turning what once was a U.S. “backyard” into a contested front in the post-unipolar order. The raid spotlights two long-running arcs—Washington’s episodic resort to force when legal avenues stall, and the erosion of the post-1945 multilateral security framework when the Security Council is bypassed. On a 100-year horizon, the operation may mark either a last gasp of U.S. hemispheric primacy or the moment that accelerates a new norm where rival powers openly challenge interventions, fracturing what remains of the rules-based system forged in 1945.
Perspectives
Chinese state-owned media
e.g., China Daily — Portrays the U.S. raid as a blatant act of imperialist aggression that shreds international law and revives the Monroe Doctrine. Amplifies accusations against Washington to bolster China’s narrative of defending sovereignty, while glossing over Beijing’s own strategic oil loans and support for Maduro’s contested rule.
Western mainstream outlets
e.g., NBC News — Depicts the capture as a shocking display of U.S. power that alarms allies and foes, raising legal doubts and fears of wider interventionism. Centers analysis on global reactions and precedents but stays cautious about outright condemnation, reflecting reliance on U.S. official sources and downplaying Maduro’s domestic abuses.
Indian business media
e.g., The Times of India, Economic Times — Frames the episode mainly through Beijing’s angry response, stressing that China’s US$100 billion investments and oil interests in Venezuela are at risk. Uses a commercial-strategic lens that may sensationalize Sino-U.S. rivalry and underplay humanitarian or legal considerations, mirroring India-China geopolitical competition.