Reuters World News - Maduro, China and Venezuela, Greenland threats and Tim Walz

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

Toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleads not guilty to narcotics charges as Delcy Rodriguez is sworn in as interim leader. China's top diplomat accuses the U.S. of acting like a "world judge", while a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows one in three Americans approves of the military strike that ousted Maduro. Denmark and Greenland reject the latest threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and Tim Walz says he will not seek a third term in Minnesota. Listen to the latest On Assignment here. Find our Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Tuesday, January 6th. Today, Maduro pleads not guilty to drug charges, telling a court he was kidnapped. The US defends its Venezuela action at the UN, as China accuses Washington of acting like a world judge. And Tim Walts withdraws his bid for a third term in Minnesota. This is Reuters World New York. Bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is escorted to a helicopter bound for a Manhattan federal court. Protesters both for and against the deposed leader gathering outside the courthouse.

Inside, dressed in blue prison Ve necks, Maduro pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts, narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. Legal reporter Jack Queen was there. Well, it was a pretty remarkable hearing to watch Mr. Maduro being led in in shackles, prison garb. You know, just a few days ago, he was in Venezuela serving as the president. And so he was asked what his plea was. He stood up and addressed the court for an interpreter. And he actually just started to give a little speech, he said,

I am innocent, I am not guilty, I am still the president of Venezuela, and then the judge cut him off and said, you know, now is not the time for that, sir, this is just an arraignment, we just want to know how you plead. And his wife, Celia Flores, was also there alongside him, and she faces similar charges. She also started to give a little speech speaking through an interpreter, but ultimately just said, plead's not guilty. And as for the charges against him, Jack says we're a long way from a trial. And Mr. Maduro's lawyer said as much. He said he expects a lot of complicated pretrial litigation over the unique legal components of this case. For instance, Mr. Maduro is a sitting head of state. And he could argue that he is a moon from prosecution because of that. And this lawyer also said that they expect to be making arguments about the circumstances of his capture and arrest. And he called it a military abduction. So there's a lot of that type of stuff to work out. I would say probably at least a year until we get to trial. I don't think Mr. to Maduro is necessarily in a hurry.

Back in Caracas, Maduro's vice president, Delci Rodriguez, has been sworn in as Venezuela's interim president. She voiced her support for Maduro, but gave no indication she would fight the U.S. moves. Over at the U.N. Security Council, U.S. ambassador Mike Walz defended Washington. 's actions. There is no war against Venezuela or its people.

We are not occupying a country. While Russia and China voiced fierce condemnation, with Beijing telling Washington it cannot be a world judge. Both lost an ally with the removal of Maduro. Russia is, however, eyeing potential gains from Trump's actions, especially if Washington becomes bogged down. China, on the other hand, is facing a litmus test of its efforts to gain diplomatic clout without military intervention.

Reporter Jo Cash is in Beijing. There is pressure now for Beijing to demonstrate how it stands up for what it calls its all-weather strategic partners, its top-tier friends. And it led condemnation of the US attack in United Nations. But the question is, what does China do now beyond the rhetoric? I was just speaking to a Chinese academic here. He said there is pressure now on Beijing to show that President Xi Jinping's global security initiative, his Belt and Road initiative, membership of that means something. But China also has a longstanding policy of non-intervention in other countries' affairs, which means that it cannot follow the US with a military intervention.

it has to do this through caralling international opinion against the US. Joe also says this doesn't change China's calculations when it comes to Taiwan. The message from China was clear. This is very different. There's been good analysis in the last few days about how the costs for China in terms of trying to take Taiwan are far greater than the cost of the US, succeeding in moving into a lesser developed neighbour's capital and seizing their leader. Seizing one person is very different to trying to take an island of 24 million. While the Venezuelan raid has alarmed world leaders, it also hasn't gone down well with Americans. A new poll out by Reuters Ipsos finds that only one in three respondents approves of the US military strike over the weekend.

Seven in ten worry the US will become too involved in the South American country. But 65% of Republicans said they backed the military operation. Questions are mounting about what happens next, not just in Venezuela, but in other countries Trump is threatening, including Greenland. Trump is threatened for some time to take Greenland by force, saying it's needed for US security. Denmark's Prime Minister said on Monday that Trump's threats to seize Greenland must be taken seriously, reiterating that the island did not want to be part of the United States.

Jacob Grintholt-Peterson is covering the reaction in Copenhagen. The worry in Denmark and Greenland is that after the US actions in Venezuela, might Greenland face a similar scenario. But to be fair, Trump has just... repeated what he said several times before, namely that we need Greenland for security. The most concrete thing that has happened is that Trump, just before Christmas appointed, a special envoy to Greenland, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who has publicly supported the idea of taking over Greenland. The Danish Prime Minister also mentioned if the U.S. attacks Greenland, then everything comes to a halt because Greenland is the third.

as affiliation with Denmark part of the NATO alliance. And if one NATO member attacks another NATO member, then what's left of the alliance? Financial markets are taking the geopolitical strains in their stride with global stocks hitting record peaks. In fact, someone over on prediction website, Polymarket, made $400,000 betting on Maduro's capture. Here's Amanda Cooper from our sister Markets podcast MorningBid with more.

Amanda, was this mystery trader just lucky or privy to some classified government information? I think everybody is wondering what the answer to that question is. What we do know is that it's somebody that created an account late last month and placed a series of small bets that amounted to about $34,000, $35,000 right in the run-up to the day of Maduro's capture, which admittedly caught even people inside the administration by surprise. Thanks, Amanda. you can listen to MorningBid wherever you get your podcasts.

Two other news now. And Minnesota Governor and former Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate, Tim Walts, says he's suspending his bid for a third term as Minnesota's governor. The move comes as the Trump administration pressures Minnesota Democrats over what it calls rampant fraud being committed by immigrants in the welfare system. The controversy dates back to 2020, where non-profit groups that administer state social service programs fraudulently took federal funds meant to fund childcare initiatives during the pandemic.

The US has revised its childhood immunisation schedule to recommend for fewer vaccines. It's another huge policy shift that advances Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's long-standing vaccine skepticism. The CDC has removed rotavirus, influenza, manager cockle disease, disease and hepatitis A from routine recommendations. It's now down to shared decision-making between parents and doctors. Now, today we have a recommended listen for you. The latest on-assignment podcast looks at life in Syria for one of the country's minority communities, the Alawites, and how a secret government scheme is trying to help heal deep divisions in society. There's a link to the episode in the pod description.

For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.