NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-04-2026 4AM EST

Episode Date: January 4, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. Venezuela and President Nicholas Maduro is being held at a detention center in Brooklyn one day after U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife on a military base in Caracas. The military action was quick and its planning was kept a secret even from members of Congress. Now members of both parties are complaining about being kept in the dark. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says Trump is being hypocritical by arresting Maduro while pardoning other convicted leaders. How do you explain the bald and glaring contradiction between parting Hernandez of Honduras, who was convicted of, I believe, sending 400 kilos of cocaine into the United States? Venezuela and vice president, Del C. Rodriguez, meanwhile, held a meeting with top leaders of the government on Saturday.

She declared that there's still only one president of Venezuela, and that's Nicholas Maduro. She also remained defiant, saying the country, country will not be run by the U.S. Meanwhile, residents of the Capitol are waiting in lines in order to stock up on food and medicines, NPR's Kerry Kahn, has more. The overall sentiment in Caracas has been one of shock after the Capitol was rocked by explosions early Saturday morning. Retired government worker Sandra Martinez, however, says Maduro had to go.

It was necessary already, she said, and if a transition is to happen, God willing, she said she hopes it will be peaceful. shopkeeper Carlos Barada, who is 57 years old, said he felt the shockwaves of the explosions, but now he's worried about what's next. Everyone is saying the next days will be difficult. He says he's decided to take the little money he has stashed away and buy as much food as he can. Kerry Kahn and PR News, Rio de Janeiro. China's foreign ministry says the U.S. should immediately release Nicholas Maduro and his wife.

It says the U.S. should try to resolve the situation in Venezuela. Venezuela through dialogue and negotiation. In a statement, officials say the capture of Maduro violates international laws and norms. The capture of Venezuela's president comes some 36 years after the U.S. captured another leader, Panamanian president Manuel Norega. But as NPR's Frank Langfit reports, the path forward isn't quite as clear now as it was then. John Feely, a former U.S. ambassador to Panama, says one reason that invasion succeeded was because the political opposition was prepared to take over. He says President Trump's vision for Maduro's replacement is fuzzy. There seems to be popular will to get rid of him. What there does not seem to

be, in my view, so far, is any kind of transition plan. On Sunday, President Trump said the U.S. would, quote, run Venezuela for now, promising a, quote, safe, proper and judicious transition later. Frank Lankfit, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News. Long track speed skaters will continue later today to try and qualify for the U.S. Olympic team at team trials in Milwaukee. Chuck Kornbach reports on women's and men's results Saturday on the 1,000 meters events. Aaron Jackson was the first black woman to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics when she did so four years ago. Now the 33-year-old Florida resident will skis.

skate in the women's 1,000-meter event in next month's Milan-Cortina Olympics after winning in Milwaukee. The former in-line skater says she still loves to compete. I feel like I started on the ice kind of late. I think I was like 25, so I feel like I'm still kind of making up for lost time. Connor McDermott Mostowy won the men's 1,000 meters. Top-ranked skater Jordan Stoles fell at the start of his race, but still finished third. He had pre-qualified for the Olympic team in the event. For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee. National Security Advisors from Europe and other allies were meeting in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Saturday. They gathered to discuss security guarantees and economic support

for Ukraine once the fighting there stops. The meeting comes just days before European leaders will meet in Kiev with Ukraine's president. That meeting takes place on Tuesday. In a sign that leaders in Iran may be taking a more aggressive approach with protesters there, Iran's supreme leader Saturday insisted that what he calls rioters must be put in their place. The week-long demonstrations were sparked by the country's struggling economy. At least two more people were killed Saturday from violence surrounding the protests. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.