Consider This from NPR - The U.S. indicts Maduro. What's it mean for the rest of the world?

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and his wife, politician and attorney Cilia Flores, made their first court appearance in New York City Monday afternoon, when they both pleaded not guilty to all charges.As Nicolás Maduro faces narco-terrorism charges in the US, Venezuelans try to figure out what it means for their future, and the rest of the world wonders what it could mean for theirs. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a scene that would have sounded like fiction just a few days ago, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, Celia Flores, stood before a U.S. judge in a Manhattan courtroom Monday afternoon. There was no audio and no pictures, but NPR's Jasmine Garst was there to witness the moment. Towards the end, as Maduro was walking out, a member of the public stood up and said, You're going to pay in the name of the Venezuelan people. Maduro turned around and said, I am a man of God. Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons charges.

His next hearing is more than two months from now. After months of U.S. strikes on boats in the region, shifting rationalizations, and increasing tensions, the now former head of Venezuela and his wife were extracted from Caracas over the weekend. The covert operation left many Venezuelans reeling. it's also left the world wondering, what comes next? President Trump may have given more than a hint to reporters who rode with him on Air Force one Sunday night, and spoiler alert, the Trump administration is focused on more than just Venezuela. Colombia is very sick to run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long. The president also reminded reporters about his longstanding interest in Greenland. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.

We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. Consider this. As Nicolas Maduro faces narco-terrorism charges in the U.S., Venezuelans try to figure out what it means for their future, and the rest of the world wonders what it can mean for theirs. From NPR, I'm Juana Summers. This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit wise.com. T's and Cs apply.

It's considered us from NPR. We're taking a look at how. the U.S.'s actions in Venezuela are being viewed abroad, starting off with Russia, an ally of the Maduro regime. Imperial's Charles Mains is in Moscow and is here to talk about Russia's stance on all of this. Hi there. Hi there. Charles, let's start with Moscow's formal response to the U.S. attacks and the arrest of Nicholas Maduro. What are they saying? Well, we haven't heard from Russian President Vladimir Putin, at least not yet. It's just about Orthodox Christmas here. And instead of commenting on Venezuela, Putin today was awarding gifts to kids by phone. Now, his foreign ministry has issued a statement calling the Trump administration's pretext for attacking Venezuela unfounded. They're demanding Maduro's release from U.S. custody, saying it was an unacceptable assault on Venezuela's sovereignty. So Moscow is expressing outrage, but it's just that, an expression, words.

But Russia's stop short of challenging the Trump administration more forcefully amid this months-long pressure campaign against the Maduro regime. In fact, the Kremlin reportedly rebuffed a request by Maduro for direct military systems. in the fall. And the reason, it seems, was Moscow's desire to maintain good relations with Trump as it tried to sway him over any peace deal for Ukraine. And, of course, there's also the fact that because of that war, Moscow doesn't have that much military equipment to hand out, not even to its friends. And speaking of friends, Charles, remind us of the nature of the relationship between Russia and Venezuela. Well, they weren't that close during the Cold War, but that changed with the revolution in Venezuela that brought Maduro's predecessor, Hugo Chavez to power near the turn of the millennium, a time, by the way,

when Vladimir Putin also happened to show up in the Kremlin. So in pretty short order, Venezuela becomes Russia's most important trading partner and military ally in Latin America. Oil was always the center of that, but so too were shared foreign policy goals, particularly when it came to countering U.S. influence on the global stage. So we've talked about the official response. But what about the Russian people? What has been their response to U.S. actions in Venezuela? Yeah, you know, this is the latest in a string of recent foreign policy setbacks for Russia concerning its allies and national. in particular here have been angry and loud about it. There was the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria in 2024. As you remember, the dictator of Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in the aftermath. There were these U.S. airstrikes against Iran, another ally over the summer. And of course, Trump continues to threaten the Iranian regime. And yet, like in Venezuela, Moscow's basically stood aside. Meanwhile, this U.S. attack on Venezuela, the capture of Maduro, you know, it sure looks like a more confident version of the military operation the Kremlin launched against Ukraine in 2022.

So there's some envy here, a point raised to me by Abbas Ghalyamov, a former speechwriter for Putin, who's now a critic in exile. What Trump did to Maduro, actually, Putin should have done to Zelensky. Trump solved the problem within just half an hour. Putin is still going through painful and big expenses in people, in money, in sanctions. And he is far from being successful. So there's some hard questions here being asked. How damaging is this ultimately to Putin's image? Well, Putin is unchallenged at home, but it doesn't exactly serve his image as a leader who is, if not respected, then at least feared on the global stage.

You know, it also dense Putin's reputation among allies, many of them autocrats, frankly, who may be wondering if they're next on Trump's list. On the other hand, Trump's rationale for his actions in Venezuela, you know, they sound awfully in tune with Putin's own justification for the invasion of Ukraine, and arguably that legitimizes Russia's might-makes-right approach when it comes to securing its own backyard. So all of this can really cut both ways. NPR's Charles Mains in Moscow, thanks. Thank you. NPR's Michelle Kellerman is in Israel, where the U.S. military operation in Venezuela was welcomed with a hope that this could be another pressure point on Iran, which is already facing street protests over the economy. Iran and one of its proxies, Hezbollah, had deep ties with Nicholas Maduro's government. NPR's Michelle Kaliman reports on the potential impact on the Middle East.

Reichman University professor Maire Javadhanfar has been glued to social media, watching the protest movement in Iran, where he was born, from Tel Aviv, where he lives now. We meet in a cafe near his home. It's a very special time to be Iranian-Israeli. My Iranian compatriots in Tehran are risking their life and going to the streets to fight, to have democracy. And meanwhile, me and many of my Israeli compatriots are going every week to protest to maintain our liberal democracy, which is under threat from the current government. But while he's a critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's domestic policies,

Javedanfar backs Israel's tough position on Iran. And he thinks the operation in Venezuela could add more pressure on the Iranian regime. He says the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah made money in the drive. drug trade from Venezuela to Europe, which meant it relied a bit less on Iranian handouts in recent years. That's going to go on. I don't think the Americans are going to stand for it. So that means that Venezuela is now going to become even more dependent on Iran for its income. And I think this comes at a very precarious time for Iran's economy. And the protest movement in Iran is all about the economy.

The Iranian economy is so maligned, it is so sick, it is so bedridden with the problem of inflation, that even if the current protests end, it's not going to solve it. Iranians in exile are worried about a crackdown on protesters while the world is focusing on Venezuela. President Trump has warned Iran that the U.S. is, quote, locked and loaded if the Iranians kill peaceful protesters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just back. from a meeting with Trump, says he thinks the Iranian people are taking their fate in their own hands. His spokesperson, Shosh Bedrosian, says Netanyahu was also pleased with the operation to Aus Maduro in Venezuela. Now, the foreign ministry has actually said that Venezuela has

destabilized the region there, serving as a base for Hezbollah terror operatives, and hosting Iranian weapons production facilities. But she wouldn't say if Israel has been given any assurances from the Trump administration or from the remnants of the Maduro regime that they will break ranks with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also wouldn't describe his conversations about this with the Venezuelans, but he told NBC's meet the press that the U.S. expects Venezuela to stop cozying up to Hezbollah and Iran. You can't turn Venezuela into the operating hub for Iran, for Russia, for Hezbollah, for China, for the Cuban intelligence agents that control that country. That cannot continue.

Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran are among those condemning the U.S. military action in Venezuela and what they call a kidnapping of President Maduro. Hezbollah's statement accused the U.S. of, quote, a hegemonic, arrogant, and piracy-driven approach to the world in support of its protege, Israel. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, says taking down Maduro is good news for the Middle East, half a world away. Michelle Kellerman and PRN.

News Tel Aviv. This episode was produced by Megan Lim, Daniel Offman, and Michael Levitt, with audio engineering by Ted Mebain and Tiffany Veracastro. It was edited by D.D. Skanky, James Heider, and Courtney Doreen. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Juana Summers.