Name: US wants to "run" Venezuela - How would that work? | DW News
Uploaded: 2026-01-04T16:59:31.000Z
Duration: 19 min 30 s
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Venezuela's deposed president Nicolas Maduro has woken up in a New York jail after being seized in Caracas during a surprise military operation.

Basic passive voice

Maduro is set to appear in court in the coming days to face criminal charges, including weapons trafficking and charges of narco terrorism.

Venezuela's acting president, Delsey Rodriguez has said an unspecified number of soldiers and civilians were killed in the US Raid.

President Donald Trump said some US Forces were hurt, but none were killed.

He also said Washington would run Venezuela for the foreseeable future.

The US Maneuver has sparked mixed reactions, but many Venezuelans living in exile have welcomed the intervention.

Across the world, Venezuelans poured onto the streets like here in Florida, celebrating what many thought they'd never see, the removal of Maduro from power.

Nicolas Maduro had run the country for more than a decade.

Some Venezuelans watching from abroad expressed relief.

I feel that as a country we are in a position where we need help from the US this is how we can return to the freedom we had 26 years ago.

Before Maduro and his party, Maduro was widely accused of running an authoritarian government marked by electoral fraud, human rights abuses and corruption.

But those celebrations are mixed with fear.

Thousands in Venezuela remain detained for opposing the deposed leader's government.

Amnesty International says arbitrary arrests targeted political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders.

We're very concerned what's going to happen after all this that is happening, the uncertainty also, you know, the aftermath.

Many Venezuelans, like this couple, say they can finally return home.

And I can't say how happy I am because I don't know any other government, only there.

I have been without my family for six years and I can't wait to fight for you.

Maduro was later seen at a U.S. drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York.

The geopolitical shockwaves are spreading across Latin America.

Brazil, Cuba and Chile condemned the US Action.

Venezuela today, tomorrow could be anyone else.

Colombia has beefed up its security along its almost 2000 kilometer long border with Venezuela.

What's needed now is common sense, good judgment and humanity.

On the streets of Caracas, some Maduro supporters say his removal would only deepen the crisis and are backing calls by authorities to mobilize.

We are asking for the liberation of our president.

Just like many years ago when we asked for the liberation of Hugo Chavez, we elected Nicola Maduro by vote.

Besides that, Trump is thinking that if he takes Maduro away.

No, the revolution continues because we're not going to allow the people who tried to kill us to come and take power in Venezuela.

For Venezuelans around the world, celebration now collides with uncertainty as their country begins a new chapter.

He's a former US Ambassador to Panama and a Marine helicopter pilot.

Ambassador, the operation to capture Maduro was carried out by an elite unit called Delta Force.

Delta Force is part of what we call Special Operations Command.

It's a multi service, meaning that there are Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force personnel assigned to it.

Delta happened to be army who have usually gone through Ranger training.

They were flown into Caracas on helicopters that are piloted by a group called Task Force 160 out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

These are people who literally spend all of their time, A, operating at night and B, in some of the toughest, most difficult terrain conditions.

They're literally, as President Trump said yesterday, the best of the best and they are unparalleled in terms of their military skill.

Well, Delta Force helped the US Achieve their objective there.

Is their concern that in quote, unquote, running the country, as Trump indicated he intends to do, that the US Will find itself in the same kind of nation building challenge that that entangled it In Iraq some 20 or so years ago.

Michael, I have to say, listening to the President yesterday and listening to General Kaine and watching what few images we have from the raiding from Venezuela, that the precision, the power and the professionalism of the US Military members who conducted that raid stood in high, high contrast to the imprecision, sort of chaos and uncertainty that the President and Secretary Rubio presented as the geopolitical future of Venezuela.

no one else really has a good understanding as what is going to transpire in Venezuela right now.

As in President Trump's words, the United States runs the place for a while until such time as we can judiciously turn it over.

And I believe that the best way to sum this up was a meme that I saw yesterday, which was a drawing of a thoroughbred racehorse on the back.

And the front of the horse was a kindergarten drawing of a horse, obviously by a small child.

And all it said was the special ops mission is the back of the horse and the head of the horse is the political vision for Venezuela.

there certainly is uncertainty at this Hour viewers will come to understand that the US Wants to run the country as Donald Trump says they intend to do.

And at the same time, they're hearing that the vice president of the administration in Venezuela that the US Government has problems with has been installed as the president.

You simply can't square these things unless you assume that the Trump administration has absolutely zero interest in a democratic future for Venezuela.

Delsey Rodriguez, the vice president to Nicolas Maduro, who, by the way, we should note, gave quite the strong speech against Donald Trump, the operation, and

insisted that the Americans give Nicolas Maduro and Celia Flores back.

Meanwhile, the president during his press conference said, yeah, Marco, meaning Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Marco has been talking to their vice president, and she knows what she has to do.

So what this presents us with is pure speculation here that Delta Rodriguez is doing what we call in Spanish, a double discurso.

She's talking out of both sides of her mouth.

On the one hand, she's telling Marco Rubio, yeah, don't worry, I got it.

But, you know, I have to go out and say a few things for my people here so that we can keep peace in the streets.

I think one of the things we have to look at is what does Trump really want out of this?

And I think if you look at how he spent most of his time talking yesterday, it was about oil, it was about wealth, and

Let's broaden our focus just for a moment here.

Talk to us about the impact this military action will have on the region itself.

Listen, I think if you take a look at the national security strategy that the Trump administration itself put out about a month ago, you will see very clearly the spheres of influence, political thought in there.

I don't think Donald Trump thinks in those terms.

I think he thinks this is our neighborhood, this is our backyard.

But I think he looks at the hemisphere as sort of his turf, and

So the implications for the region are very, very.

I don't think that we're going to see any further attacks, but

I do think we're going to see all kinds of pressure.

That's former U.S. ambassador and Marine pilot John Feeley.

For more, I am now joined by John Polga Hekimovich.

He is an associate professor of political science at The US Naval Academy, where he focuses on comparative and Latin American politics.

What's been the reaction in the US To Trump's actions, especially among those in the MAGA movement who had fairly isolationist expectations from this president.