Your World Tonight - U.S. captures Venezuelan President, Power restored to Manitoba first nation, Climate goals in 2026, and more

Episode Date: January 3, 2026

United States armed forces have captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife...after carrying out an overnight assault on the capital, Caracas. Its a stunning culmination of a months long standoff between the two countries. President Donald Trump now claims the country of Venezuela is being run by the U.S.. We have extensive coverage of the days events - including reaction from around the world.Also: Power has been restored to Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba, after a four day outage, But the damage to the community is significant...and thousands of evacuees are still out of their homes. And: For climate advocates all over the world, 2025 wasn't easy. As the U.S. pulls out of global climate diplomacy and turns more towards fossil fuels - Canada is considering new pipelines and new resource projects. All while attention is shifting away from its decade-long climate plan. So what’s there to look forward to in 2026 when it comes to fighting the climate crisis?Plus: Swiss bar fire investigation opened, earning money with an EV charger, and more.

This ascent isn't for everyone. You need grit to climb this high this often. You've got to be an underdog that always over-delivers. You've got to be 6,500 hospital staff, 1,000 doctors, all doing so much with so little. You've got to be Scarborough. Defined by our uphill battle and always striving towards new heights. And you can help us keep climbing.

Donate at lovescarbro.cairbo. This is a CBC podcast. So we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. U.S. forces carry out an overnight military operation in Venezuela, seizing President Nicholas Maduro and his wife and saying he will face narco-terrorism charges in the U. US. It's the big story on your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skanderas. We have full coverage of the situation in Venezuela, including reaction from the region and the country where the vice president is demanding Maduro's release, while Trump sends warnings to Mexico, Cuba and

Colombia, that they could be the next targets. From Canada. I feel like a lot of Venezuela's have been waiting this for a long time. Like we want to go back to her country. We're just Relieved and happy. Reaction from Venezuelan Canadians pours in as leaders offer messages of celebration and condemnation. In Caracas.

That sound of the lightning-fast, overnight assault carried out by U.S. forces. The United States military stormed in and captured Venezuela's president Nicholas Maduro and his wife, a stunning culmination of a months-long standoff between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump now claims the country of Venezuela is being run by the United States. Karen Pauls brings us our top story from Washington. But they were completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated. U.S. President Donald Trump flanked by officials

describing the mission in a Florida news conference Saturday morning. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was given many chances to surrender. He heft around and he found out. Maduro and his wife were arrested and have landed in New York, where they face charges of narco-terrorism and cocaine importation and conspiracy to use weapons against the U.S. Officially, the justification is the war on drugs. But Venezuela has some of the largest reserves of oil in the world.

The oil companies are going to go in. They're going to spend money. We're going to take back the oil that, frankly, we should have taken back a long time ago. Meanwhile, Trump says the U.S. will run the country until a transition can occur. Well, it's largely going to be for a period of time, the people that are standing right behind me. We're going to be running it. Trump was light on specifics, but says Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Carino Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, doesn't have the respect to rule.

This is illegal. unjustified. Congressional Democrats say the administration didn't have legal authority for its actions and say Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio lied to Congress in briefings last year. Seth Moulton is a congressman from Massachusetts. When we had briefings on Venezuela, we asked, are you going to invade the country? We were told no. Do you plan to put troops on the ground in Venezuela? We were told no. Do you intend regime change in Venezuela? We were told no. So, In a sense, we have been briefed. We've just been completely lied to. Rubio says they didn't have to notify Congress ahead of time because it's not a war.

It's mostly a law enforcement mission. So it's the end of one dictator, but it is not the beginning of democracy. I mean, this is really the law of the jungle. Ben Rosewell is a former Canadian ambassador to Venezuela and a consultant with Catalyze 4, a strategic advisory and leadership development firm. He says democracy doesn't seem. to be on Trump's radar. We have no sympathy for Nicolas Maduro,

but the fact that the United States not only will enter the sovereign territory of another country and decapitate its government without any international legal cover, but also openly flaunting international law, sends a signal to all of us that every president and every prime minister is potentially a target of U.S. military action.

Trump and Rubio are issuing warnings to other countries like Colombia. He's making cocaine, they're sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass. And Cuba. Yeah, look, I lived in Havana and I was in the government. I'd be concerned, at least a little bit. Suggesting they're not ruling out taking action there, too. Karen Paul's, CBC News, Washington.

So the capture of Nicholas Maduro is drawing a range of reactions in Latin America, from outrage to praise and defiance. Freelance reporter Cody Weddell is in Bogota, Colombia, with more. Cody, Nicholas Maduro's vice president, Delisie Rodriguez, has addressed the nation this afternoon. What did she have to say? Well, I think, first of all, what was so striking about her appearance on TV was that she was surrounded by top members of the Maduro governments. These are people who, like Maduro, had bounties put on them by the U.S. State Department. Interior Minister Diozalo Cabello, Defense Minister, Vladimir.

Padrino Lopez. So clearly for now, that inner circle of Maduro remains defiant and remains in Caracas. So she described that attack that happened. She called it, quote, an aggression without precedence. And she said that those who launched it will pay for it. She did not say that she has assumed the presidency. She actually said she demanded the immediate return and release of Nicolas Maduro. And that's actually contradicts what Trump had said earlier in the day. He said that she had been sworn in as the new president and that they were cooperating with her. But she appeared on TV and she was certainly defiant. Now, looking outside of Venezuela, what could these U.S. actions mean for the region, including where you are in Colombia? So I think this represents definitely a major threat

for allies of Venezuela around the region, certainly Cuba that has relied on Venezuelan oil over the past few decades, but also even countries like Colombia led by leftist Gustavo Petro. We've seen Trump and Petro really budding heads really over the past year. Petro even had his U.S. visa revoked. Of course, Colombia is the largest producer of cocaine, and Trump has said, that this is about narco-trafficking. He certainly doesn't believe the Colombian government is doing enough to control narco-trafficking. And Trump has continued to make those comments regarding Colombia. Cody, thanks so much. Thank you.

Freelance reporter Cody Weddell in Colombia. Still ahead, a dive into the state of the planet at the start of this. this new year. We look at climate diplomacy, renewable energy, new resource projects, and just how hot it is. That's coming up on your world tonight. Leaders around the world have been reacting to news of the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro and his wife. Some are responding cautiously and diplomatically. Others are far more critical. Julia Chapman gauges some of that reaction. from London. Nicholas Maduro was not a president with many allies. Most of the Western world

considered him illegitimate. But the brazen nature of his forceful ouster by a foreign army has been met with shock. Here's British Prime Minister Kier-Starmer. I always say and believe we should all uphold international law. Almost every response from world leaders includes a form of those words. For the most part, America's allies are expressing concern, right? rather than criticizing its actions. But some, including Norway and Spain, accuse the U.S. of breaking international law. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez

says the action in Venezuela sets a dangerous precedent. An emergency meeting of the Security Council is expected to be held on Monday. And the global community is closely watching what happens next. The leaders of the EU, UK, France and Germany say there should be a democratic transition. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says today's attacks by American forces have an impact on the entire world. Some warn that they give impunity to autocrats that want to invade sovereign nations.

In recent years, the Maduro regime grew closer to Iran, Russia and China. All three countries condemn the U.S. action. Moscow says the pretexts used by Washington are unfounded. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held a phone call with the Venezuelan deputy. Prime Minister. China is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan oil, and Maduro's last meeting was with a Chinese official. Beijing says it is deeply shocked by the use of force against a sovereign country. But among the Venezuelan diaspora, many are celebrating. It's a pity that another country had to come in to help us liberate, but we tried everything. Alejandro Peña Esclusa is a political analyst and a former politician living in exile in Italy.

I'm very excited, very moved, because this 26 years of dictatorship has been very, very horrible for the Venezuelan population. One world leader had a tongue-in-cheek response to events in Venezuela. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters, if this is how you can deal with dictators, then the U.S. knows what to do next. Julia Chapman, CBC News, London. Venezuelans in Canada are reacting to the news of Maduro's capture. Hundreds took to the streets to hold rallies in several cities.

As Alexander Silberman shows us, the response has been a mix of celebration and caution about the country's future. There is no words to express how we feel, actually. A celebration on the streets of Montreal. Dozens of Venezuelan community members gathering to share their joy after learning of the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

We're just relieved and happy. Caroline Duran came to Canada from Venezuela as a refugee eight years ago. She says she saw no other solution beyond intervention by a foreign power. I feel like a lot of Venezuelas have been waiting this for a long time. Maduro's government prompted one of the largest global migration crises in recent history. Over the past decade, nearly 8 million Venezuelans have. left the country, according to the United Nations. Canada's Venezuelan community rallied after hearing the news. Many Venezuelans elated about the end of Maduro's grip on power.

The socialist president is accused of human rights abuses against political dissidents and staging sham elections. His 12 years of rule, marked by deep economic collapse and extreme poverty for the vast majority of residents. He's a happy situation. Gusto Goudino is president of the Venezuelan Canadian Association of Calgary. The city is home to thousands of Venezuelans who immigrated in the early 2000s to work in the oil and gas sector. Gudino says the removal of Maduro came as a surprise and leaves him optimistic. We hope the democracy will go back to Venezuela. That is the main thing that we want.

Canadian political leaders are also reacting. Prime Minister Mark Carney says he welcomes the opportunity for freedom, democracy, and peace for the Venezuelan people. In a statement, he is calling on all parties to respect international law, adding Canada stands by the Venezuelan people's right to decide and build their own future. Conservative opposition leader Pierre Pauliev congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump, saying Maduro should live out his days in prison. There remains caution and countless questions over what could come next. Durand says she supports U.S. involvement in the transition. So we are actually very, very grateful to President Trump. I know it's hard for a lot of people to understand that,

but it was the only way to get them out. With Maduro out, Venezuelan Canadians say they're now looking to the future with renewed hope for democracy. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Edmonton. Power has been restored to a northern Manitoba First Nation after a four-day outage. But the damage to the community is significant, and thousands of evacuees are still out of their homes. Gavin Axelrod reports.

More than 100 homes in Pimichikamakri Nation are considered severely compromised. in the aftermath of the power outage. Damaged when pipes burst, sewage backed up, and most of the houses in the community are without running water. Chief David Monias has put out a plea for help with repairs of critical infrastructure, for plumbers across the prairie provinces to help with repairs, and he's asking for support from the military. Right now, at the bare minimum, I'm looking at about $44 to $45 million of repairs that are required.

Indigenous Services Canada has said it will provide financial support to Pimichikamak Cree Nation, to address damaged infrastructure. In the meantime, Monia says there's still no timeline for when thousands of evacuees will be able to go home. Gavin Axelrod, CBC News, Winnipeg. Swiss authorities are investigating the two managers of a bar that caught fire during New Year's celebrations. They could face several criminal charges,

including negligent homicide. The fire killed 40 people and injured more than 100 others. Police have so far identified four of the victims, two females, aged 21 and 16, and two males aged 18 and 16. Investigators say the fire was likely caused by sparklers on champagne bottles that were carried too close to the ceiling. We've been talking earlier in the show about Donald Trump's sudden military actions inside Venezuela. It's one of his most dramatic acts since he burst on the political scene a decade ago.

And it's the latest example of the fast pace of change in this first year of his second presidency, that is unlike just about anything seen before. J.P. Tasker looks at how Trump has wielded executive orders to push through a radical overhaul of the American government. This is a far better term than it would have been had it done at the more traditional level. It's a more powerful thing. At a pre-Christmas rally in North Carolina,

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged his governing style is unorthodox. But political observers say that, the first year of his second presidency is more than that. This has just been a remarkable presidency. Republican strategist Matthew Bartlett says the last year was unlike anything seen before in the nearly 250-year history of the American Republic. Tariffs economic upheaval and immigration crackdown, not to mention mass layoffs in the public service.

I think you may have to go back to ancient Egypt to the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who radically transformed all of Egyptian society. CBC News has crunched the numbers to find out just how much has really changed on Trump's watch. One figure stands out. Trump has issued more executive orders than any of his recent predecessors, and it's not even close. Trump put pen to paper on an eye-popping 220 such orders in the first year alone. It just wants to sign executive orders all the time. No good. It's no good.

And while he criticized his predecessor, Barack Obama, You saw what he did today. Executive orders. He wants to do, wouldn't it be nice if they could actually get Congress together and, you know, do it the old-fashioned way? Trump has so far churned out nearly six times more orders than Obama did in his first year in the Oval Office. On his first day, Trump used that tool to withdraw from the World Health Organization and Paris Climate Accord. He also rescinded birthright citizenship. World Health ripped us off. Everybody rips off the United States, and that's it. It's not going to happen anymore. His use of the presidential pen hasn't stopped since. Trump has dismantled the Department of Education, restored the death penalty, and expanded his so-called Muslim travel ban. The list goes on.

It's been an incredibly tumultuous year on just about every front. Matthew Lebo, a professor of U.S. politics at Western University, says this phenomenon is not one to be celebrated. It's a sign Congress has all but abdicated its responsibility to legislate. It's not just that he has an expansive agenda. It's a sign of lawlessness. Presidential historian Barbara Perry says other presidents have been revolutionary or pushed through major reforms in their first year. Abraham Lincoln grappled with the U.S. Civil War. But still, Perry says Trump stands alone. In the pace of change, how it's been done, his style, his approach to it all, it's like no other in American history.

Bartlett, the Republican strategist, expects more of the same in the year ahead. The president continues to be obsessed with the now and wielding every tool. Even, he says, if the pace of change seems to be spooking some voters. Bulls suggest Trump's approval rating just hit a new low. J.P. Tasker, CBC News, Washington. Calgarians are being urged to continue to conserve water as the city works to repair a major water main break. The break happened on Tuesday, and officials are

still unsure what caused it. The city has enacted stage four water restrictions, asking residents to take shorter showers and only use dishwashers and laundry machines when necessary. Four neighborhoods have been put under boil water advisories. Calgary Mayor Jeremy Farkas says as crews work to patch the current break, a long-term solution is coming. Make no mistake, Calgary is sitting on a ticking time bomb.

This bear's paw feeder main will continue to break until a complete alternative is built. We're going to have to build that replacement pipe faster than we've ever built anything before and we're going to need to do it right the first time. Farkas says they are expecting repairs to be done within 14 days of the initial break. For climate advocates all over the world,

2025 wasn't easy. The U.S. has firmly turned towards fossil fuels and pulled out of global climate diplomacy. Climate scientists and research institutions are under attack, and the U.S. trade pressure on other countries has forced Europe and Canada to reorder their own domestic priorities. Canada is considering new pipelines, new resource projects, while attention is shifting away from its decade-long climate plan. So what is there to look forward to in 2026 when it comes to fighting the climate crisis? Well, a lot, actually, and not all

bad news, according to CBC climate reporter Inayat Singh, who joined us to talk about it. There's been a lot of focus on climate policy, fossil fuels, carbon taxes. But first, let's just take stock. What's the state of the planet as we head into 2026? Simply put, the planet is continuing to bake. So 2025 is now the second warmest year on record. It's tied with 2003. That's according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Research Program.

World average temperatures have also been about 1.48 degrees above pre-industrial levels. So that's almost at that 1.5 degree Celsius limit that countries agreed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement. We're really close to there. And for 2006, the trend is expected to continue. So according to researchers at the UK's Met Office, 2006 will almost definitely be above 1.4 degrees. There's a chance that it'll even breach 1.5 degrees and could become one of the hottest years on record, if not the hottest. So that's something that we'll be watching for next year, but the trend is continuing. Okay, so things are getting hotter. Is there still any energy in climate negotiations to tackle the problem?

It has been tough for climate diplomacy. And for people looking at these climate conferences, things have not been going well. Countries have not been able to come together. But there's a ray of hope. So next year, in April, a group of like-minded countries are meeting in Colombia in March. They're led by Colombia, the Netherlands, and they're going to be looking at a deal on phasing out fossil fuels. The idea is to bring together smaller groups of like-minded countries outside the more formal UN climate conferences to come together, build some consensus, and actually get some climate progress going.

So here they're looking at a roadmap on phasing out fossil fuels. The hope is to leave out petro states like the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia that don't want such a deal. So still some initiative left in climate diplomacy, but beyond promises, what's happening in terms of actually moving towards renewable energy? That's actually one bright spot as we head into 2006. That's been a bright spot this year, too. The good news story is the rise of China and especially Chinese clean technology. They are leading the world on everything from solar panels to electric cars to batteries, and they're bringing down the price of these technologies. So half of all cars sold in China now are electric, zero emissions. And more importantly, more interestingly, most of those electric cars on the market in China are cheaper than their gas equivalent. So they have made it the more cost-effective choice.

And thanks to that cheaper Chinese technology, other countries, developing countries, countries like Pakistan, South Africa, Brazil, they're all overtaking Western countries in terms of solar energy, wind power, your electric cars, your electric scooters. And this is bringing down emissions. So two-thirds of developing countries now have more solar in their power grid than the U.S. So where does that leave countries like Canada? That's going to be a tricky question for us heading into next year for Canada and other Western countries as well, who want to decarbonize but also protect their economies. So next year, the government, the federal government in Canada is reviewing its zero emissions vehicle sales mandate. This was a set of rules to kind of encourage carmakers to sell more electric cars in Canada.

We will see what those rules will be in 2006 and how Canada aims to get more people into EVs. Also, another interesting trend is the warming of relations between Canada and China. This is coming after years of really difficult relations and a difficult trade situation between those countries. Mark Carney has actually accepted an invitation to visit Beijing from China as president. So a lot of climate analysts are looking at whether this will lead to more trade deals and maybe open up a space for that cheaper Chinese clean technology to enter the Canadian market. Okay. It looks like developing countries, a big chunk of the world, are moving on decarbonization.

What can we expect for Canada? This year, we saw Mark Carney's government move forward on fast-tracking major resource projects. A lot of them extractive projects. So they even signed an MOU with Alberta. to get an oil pipeline built. This has alarmed environmental groups. There are worries that this will lead to and increase in emissions,

but the details are still to be decided. So as part of this MOU, Alberta, for example, has agreed to increase its carbon price, put a more stringent carbon pricing regime on its local industries. And the details of that will be hashed out in 2006.

So we'll see what the impact on emissions might be. Alberta will also have to strengthen their methane regulations. Now, methane regulations are really important for bringing down methane emissions from oil and gas sites. It's a potent greenhouse gas. And reductions of methane have stalled in the past little while. So environmental groups are looking at strengthening those rules in 2006 that could have a big impact on emissions from the sector. And also, there will be new environmental conditions on any new pipeline, any new LNG terminal. Those details are important for emissions. BC, indigenous communities will also have a say in all of this.

They will have to be convinced. And all this will be negotiated in 2006. So people are eagerly awaiting those details because despite all the recent moves, Carney's government has also said that it remains committed to Canada's climate targets. Inayat, thank you. That's CBC News climate reporter, Inniott Singh. For many people, there is a big perk to owning an EV. You can charge it at home and electricity.

electricity is cheaper than gas. But your EV charger can do more than save money. Now it could potentially make you money too. Emily Chung explains. That's joking. Hoare's Filiker plugs a charger into one of his family's two Tesla model three electric cars. Originally, he went electric for environmental reasons. A general discussion that I started having with my wife about doing something against climate change.

Since making the swap to EVs, though, he's been saving money. money on gas. So it's really, really cheap to charge the car. And finding better and better deals. Recently, he got a free, brand new, level 2 EV charger that's now plugged into the wall of his garage. And the company that makes the charger will pay him for charging his car. For us, we're charging two cars, so it adds up. The payments will cover about three quarters of the cost of the electricity for charging the car. Switch Energy is the Toronto Company offering the deal, it launched its home charging program this month, and Villager's family is among the first to join. Greg Overmans is the company's head of marketing.

This really helps cut off a lot of the expenses to charge your car and just another way for people to see the transition to EVs being delightful. Switch is one of several EV charging companies offering this kind of deal, listed on a new website from Plug and Drive, a non-profit that aims to speed up the EV transition. Spokesperson Chad Yee says the page will be updated regularly. We want to basically tell everybody that home charging is not only convenient, cost-effective, but it's even better because you can actually get a great incentive or a free charger. But why are EV charging companies offering these kinds of incentives?

It has to do with Canada's clean fuel regulations. They require companies that sell gas and diesel to cut their emissions intensity over time. One way is by buying credits from companies like Switch generated from EV charging. Overmans said Switch had been selling credits from charging in commercial and condo buildings for a couple of years. And only recently we thought, you know, let's extend that offer and bring in a larger group of people, people who are previously out of that market because they're too small. Homeowners like Philiger. Chandin Bardwage is with the Pembina Institute, a Canadian Energy think tank.

He says the clean fuel regulations do have. have more direct ways for companies to cut emissions from gas and diesel, finding lower carbon ways to make it, or blending in lower carbon fuels such as ethanol. Yes, ideally you would want them to reduce emissions by themselves, but sometimes allowing them to buying credits facilitates EV adoption. He said research in other countries has already shown that carbon credit systems like this do reduce overall emissions by encouraging investments in EVs and charging. He's also done an analysis showing that credits from the clean fuel regulations cut the cost of installing and providing EV charging by 25%.

And customers should consider programs from EV charging companies that let them have a cut. So, like, you should demand more benefits from them. Something EV drivers like Urs Villager are already taking advantage of. Emily Chung, CBC News, Toronto. Recapping our top story, the U.S. overnight assault on Venezuela. resulting in the capture of President Nicholas Maduro and his wife. U.S. President Donald Trump says Maduro will face narco-terrorism charges in the U.S. and that the U.S. will run Venezuela until a safe transition of power can happen.

Many Venezuelan Canadians are celebrating the news, while leaders offer support or criticism that the attack is illegal. Meanwhile, Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia are some of the countries watching the situation closely and wondering if President Trump will make good on warnings that they could be targets. This has been your world tonight for Saturday, January 3rd. I'm Stephanie Skanderas. Thank you for being with us. Good night.