Reuters World News - Trump says US will run Venezuela

Episode Date: January 3, 2026

President Donald Trump says the United States will run Venezuela until a proper transition of power can be arranged. The declaration comes after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a dramatic overnight operation. Maduro and his wife are en route to the United States to face criminal charges. *This podcast was updated after President Trump's news conference. Listen to On Assignment here. Listen to Reuters 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

I'm Sharon Reich Garson in New Jersey. It's Saturday, January 3rd, today. Trump says the U.S. will run Venezuela after a U.S. military operation deposes President Nicolas Maduro. The deposed president and his wife are on route to the United States, where they face criminal charges. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. So we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. President Donald Trump laying out his plans for Venezuela after a dramatic military intervention. Late last night and early today at my direction, the United States Armed Forces,

conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. Overwhelming American military power, air, land, and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault. The U.S. hasn't made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989 to depose military leader Manuel Noriega. The target was President Nicolas Maduro, who President Trump has long accused of running a narco state and rigging an election. Maduro and his wife are now on route to the United States

to face criminal charges. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, for their campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States. States. Earlier, Trump posted a picture of Maduro on board the USS Iwojima, blindfolded and handcuffed, wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. At the news conference in Trump's Mara Lago,

Trump offered few details about how the U.S. would oversee Venezuela. He said Venezuela's vice president Delsi Rodriguez was sworn into office as the new president. Earlier, explosions rocked the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. According to Reuters' witnesses, the blasts went on for roughly 90 minutes, starting around 2 a.m. Black smoke, bright orange flashes lighting up the sky. Across Caracas, Venezuelans captured the extraordinary scenes on their cell phones, gathering outside their homes in shock. Venezuela's government says civilians and military personnel died in Saturday strikes, which also took place in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira. With Venezuelans nervously wondering what would come next, Interior Minister Diozado Cabello appeared on state TV, wearing a helmet and flack jacket,

urging people not to cooperate with the, quote, terrorist enemy. Here's our Andy and Bureau Chief Julia Sims Cobb with what's happening in Venezuela. What does this upheaval mean for Venezuela's military? and the rest of Maduro's government. We think that that will become much clearer over the next hours and days. Right now, we know that some senior figures in Maduro's government, they've appeared on state TV, they've made statements,

they've gone out into the streets in Caracas, dressed in flack jackets. We know that they're actively managing parts of the government. And what about the opposition? We're expecting Maria Corina Machalo, who is the top leader in the opposition, to speak. We're not actually sure where she is at the moment. she left Venezuela in disguise to go to Oslo and receive the Nobel Peace Prize in December,

but has kept her movements under wraps since then. They said earlier that they didn't have an immediate comment on the actions that the U.S. took. And so we're not sure if they're expecting some sort of U.S. help to then take power in Venezuela. The international observers, the opposition itself, the United States and other countries all say the oppositions candidate won the 2024 elections. Maduro was backed by the Supreme Court and lawmakers and was able to be inaugurated. But the opposition has always argued that it has a democratic right to take power. Reactions from Venezuelans in the U.S. and in Chile, home to Venezuela's largest diaspora population, are overwhelmingly positive. People celebrate Maduro's capture by dancing in the streets.

And in Madrid, Venezuelans living there tell Reuters they're nervous, but happy about what's happening. Because all these years, I'm expecting one of this notice, and never we're seeing the U.S. intervention as a move towards freedom for the country. The narco regime that we have in Venezuela,

they know, they were announced that for the women, not going to solta. But the intervention sparked alarm elsewhere. China's foreign ministry saying it strongly condemns the use of U.S. force Against a sovereign country and a president. And Colombia's president,

Gustavo Petro, calls for a national, emergency meeting at the UN. Russia's foreign ministry says the United States has committed an act of armed aggression, describing it as deeply concerning and condemnable. For more on this breaking story, stay tuned to the Reuters app and Reuters.com. Now over to Iran, where flames crackle and crowds chant anti-government slogans outside a police station. The sound of the country's biggest protests in three years. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khanini

is vowing not to yield after U.S. President Trump threatened to come to the aid of protesters there. President Trump's post on social media this week that the U.S. will come to the aid of protesters if Iran cracks down on unrest were vague but also forceful. The president said the U.S. is locked and loaded

and ready to go. And as our U.S. Foreign Policy Editor Don Durfey explains the comments come at a particularly challenging time for Tehran. I think it's important to note, first of all, it's just not clear how serious this threat is that he's made. And Trump did not specify what he meant by getting involved. The U.S. did for the first time launch a military strike against Iran last summer. This is against its nuclear facilities in conjunction with Israel. Previously, the U.S. has levied all sorts of sanctions against Iran. Trump did warn when Netanyahu was visiting recently that if Iran were to restart its nuclear program or its ballistic missile program, that Trump would be willing to get involved again on military strikes to prevent that from happening.

One of the bigger picture of things here is that Iran is severely weakened after the past year. many of its closest allies and proxies have been either defeated or severely weakened. You think of Hamas, Hezbollah, Assad has gone from Syria. And it is now in a position where it can't really retaliate in a significant way. So when Trump makes a threat against Iran over protests, I think it's the kind of thing that needs to be taken a lot more seriously than if that threat were made just a year ago. And for today's recommended listen, this weekend's on assignment. Our colleague Timor Asari takes us to the coastal provinces of Syria, where the country's new rulers are trying to win over the Aloites, the religious and ethnic minority that once held significant influence in Syria under former president Bashar al-Assad. In March of 2025, a wave of bloodshed saw pro-government fighters kill hundreds of al-Alawites.

The worst bloodshed since Assad was toppled. What's remarkable is that I was in this region about six months after the events took place after these atrocities and these killings. And it was almost as if it was yesterday. I saw several homes that were just completely charred, burnt to a shell. People six months later had nothing.

They were living with neighbors, they were living with family in other areas, and they were still waiting to get sort of basics replaced. There's a link to that. episode in today's show notes. 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 favorite podcast player. And 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.