The U.S. invaded the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026.
America performed an operation to extract Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Through bombing, air units and special forces, the U.S. took Maduro and his wife at night in less than 24 hours. This operation, however, was not just a day long.
According to the BBC, the U.S. had spies in Venezuela gathering intel on Maduro for months on end.
The two were taken to the states, and Maduro was to go on trial for drug-charges because of his involvement with Venezuelan cartels, and drug-trafficking.
In doing this, the U.S. has become further involved in Latin America to a degree similar to the Cold War and Cuba. This means a lot for the political climate internationally.
The U.S. technically has the legal right to involve themselves in Latin countries and their affairs through the Monroe Doctrine. With the doctrine, the U.S. may intervene in a latin country if the country is struggling internally with their economics or government.
According to CNN, Maduro is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where other high profile detainees are being, or have been held. Names like Sean Combs, Jeffry Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and R. Kelly.
Recently, President Trump and the U.S. military has made itself clear on its stance on international involvement. According to an article from the American Friends Service Committee, Trump said that the U.S. will run Venezuela until there is a change in government. And there is no doubt that the U.S. will have influence on the coming regime change.
There is precedent of America doing this in the past, such as the war in the middle-east. The justification for being there was the need for oil, and a need to control that sector of the world, because a government that the U.S. didn’t align with was forming. The U.S. was in the middle east for around four decades. America was at war with the leader of the Islamic State, Saddam Hussein, who the U.S. also captured.
“We’re seeing a pattern in history, of U.S. involvement in other countries. And actively using a doctrine that was established in the 1800’s. As a young civics teacher, I’m seeing everything I’ve been teaching in the current time.
— Nyana Barro, Civics Teacher
.sno-pullquote-6966a5d69f880 { display: flex; float: none; margin: 30px auto; width: 100%; border-color: #888888; border-top-width: 5px; border-right-width: 5px; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-left-width: 5px; } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69f880 p.pullquotetext, .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69f880 p.quotespeaker { } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69f880 .pullquotepic { width: 250px; margin-left: 25px; } .sno-story-body .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69f880 p.pullquotetext { font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.4em; } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69f880 .quotebar { background: #dddddd; flex: 0 0 90px; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-top: 15px; margin-right: 15px; } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69f880 .largequote { color: #888888; } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69f880 .quotebody { width: 100%; }Venezuela notably has an abundance of natural resources. It has a vast amount of oil, which the U.S. has its eyes on according to sources from CNN. It’s possible that not only does President Trump aim to gain political control over the Latin country, but is also possibly driven by economic concerns for its resources as well.
Shortly after the U.S. took Maduro, the streets of Venezuela were crowded with loud celebrations.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Nicolas Maduro became president of Venezuela after the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013. Later in 2018, Maduro won the presidential election and became president again. The Venezuelan constitution was used to determine that Maduro was not a president, and that he had usurped his power, which was illegal. After this, an abundance of countries in the world failed to recognize Maduro as the true president; the U.S. being one of them.
According to NBC, Maduro ran Venezuela’s economy into the ground, stating an estimated 80% of residents live in poverty.
Broadcasts and videos of the celebrations show that there are people of Venezuela that are happy that Maduro is gone, but how they’re still concerned about what will happen next with the future of Venezuela.
Venezuela is divided on whether or not they truly want U.S. involvement. With Maduro gone and President Trump declaring his plans for the country, it’s safe to say that for now, the U.S. has a bigger influence on the country.
It’s important to note that the U.S. chose to use military force to capture Maduro and invade Caracas. The attack on Venezuela was a complete surprise, and they gave minimal room to react to this aggression. The U.S. gave no warning or statement to the Venezuelan government. Yes, the Monroe Doctrine technically allows these types of actions, but does a doctrine from the 1800’s still hold up today?
The U.S. leadership doesn’t align with how Maduro was running things — especially with the crimes he’s currently on trial for — but to take this course of action without any announcement could be considered foul play. This even speaks volumes as to how the U.S. will choose — and has chosen — to operate when pertaining to other countries.
On one hand, Maduro, who has wronged the people of Venezuela, has been removed from office rather forcefully. And on the other hand, Venezuela now has to deal with further U.S. intervention and involvement, which can be problematic in itself. Venezuela and their government are in a vulnerable position right now.
The U.S. has the resources and power to help the Venezuelan people. The U.S. is one of the richest countries in the world, we have the resources and the assets to aid the world and our own people. Whether or not we choose to do that, is up to President Trump.
But it’s important to be wary of the true intentions. The U.S. may or may not have done a “good” thing, but it’s not out of the question that the country aims to extend their international control through this action. And the U.S. mission to obtain more oil and resources is not to be neglected, they have knowledge of the richness in resources that Venezuela has, and it’s safe to say that they aim to use those resources. More on this at CNN.
Jan. 9, 2026, just days after the operation, Exxon Mobil released information about a meeting between them and President Trump. Their meeting housed talks of the future of the oil industry in Venezuela, and possible, lucrative opportunities.
In this meeting, Exxon details their intent with the oil business in the country and across the globe. They state that Exxon is focused on finding and keeping these resources to continue their business, which in their own words, is depleting.
Oil is a finite resource.
A resource that will eventually run out. They view the political takeover of another country as a simple business opportunity to potentially gain access to their resources to fund big oil companies like Exxon.
Exxon further states that their assets have been seized, which means to have law enforcement take over your property. Exxon now has to push harder to change that, in order to further their business in Venezuela.
“There’s a value proposition that we have to meet. It has to be a win‑win‑win proposition. Obviously, it has to be a win for the company and our shareholders, generating a return for the investments that we make. It has to be a win for the government. The resources are an important source of revenue that help support the people of the places that we do business.
— Darren Woods, Exxon Mobil CEO
.sno-pullquote-6966a5d69ffca { display: flex; float: none; margin: 30px auto; width: 100%; border-color: #888888; border-top-width: 5px; border-right-width: 5px; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-left-width: 5px; } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69ffca p.pullquotetext, .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69ffca p.quotespeaker { } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69ffca .pullquotepic { width: 250px; margin-left: 25px; } .sno-story-body .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69ffca p.pullquotetext { font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.4em; } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69ffca .quotebar { background: #dddddd; flex: 0 0 90px; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-top: 15px; margin-right: 15px; } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69ffca .largequote { color: #888888; } .sno-pullquote-6966a5d69ffca .quotebody { width: 100%; }Only 9 days after the U.S. operation in Venezuela, and talks of oil business are already becoming commonplace. The U.S. will take action on getting these resources from Venezuela in due time.
The U.S. performed an act of military aggression on another country’s government; extracted them; and are now putting them on trial. What the U.S. plans to do in Venezuela is yet to become a reality, but is very possible. And what the future has in store for Venezuela is either to be decided by the U.S. or the Venezuelan government and people.