Name: US seizes Venezuelan president Maduro: BBC Learning English from the News
Uploaded: 2026-01-12T17:02:15.000Z
Duration: 8 min 20 s
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From BBC Learning English this is Learning English from the News, our podcast.

About the news headlines in this program, US Seizes Venezuelan President Maduro.

In this program, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com so, Beth, let's hear more about this story.

military operation in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Saturday led to the arrest of its president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores.

The couple were taken to New York and appeared in court on Monday, accused of conspiring with terrorist organizations.

They were also accused of trafficking cocaine into the U.S. both Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty.

Following the military action in Venezuela, US President Donald Trump said the US Would run Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time.

This comes from Le Monde, a French newspaper which also reports in English, Maduro's fate lies with US Courts as Venezuela's lies with Trump.

That headline again from Maduro's fate lies with US Courts as Venezuela's lies with Trump.

This headline is about the charges against Nicolas Maduro as well as the plan for the future of Venezuela.

Now, we're interested in a phrase that is repeated in the headline fate lies with Pippa.

A person's fate is what will happen to them in the future.

We often use fate to talk about dramatic things like winning or losing life, relationships, careers, or even death.

And if someone's fate lies with someone or something, it means their fate will be decided by that person or thing.

Their fate or future depends on the person or thing.

So in the headline Maduro's fate lies with the US Courts, this means the US Courts will decide what happens to Nicolas Maduro.

And the headline also says Venezuela's fate lies with Trump.

This means what happens to Venezuela in the future depends on the actions of President Trump.

We see this phrase used in dramatic news stories about change, where what will happen in the future is uncertain.

For example, if a country holds an election, you could say the fate of the government lies with voters.

Or another example, the fate of the company lies with its CEO.

We've had fate lies with future depends on, for example, the fate of the new railway lies with Town planners.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about the U.S. s operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Following the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, his deputy leader, Delsey Rodriguez has become interim president in Venezuela.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, many countries criticized the actions of the US Saying they broke international law.

But many countries agreed with the US That Nicolas Maduro had been an illegitimate leader, meanwhile, meaning that Maduro did not win a free and fair election to become president of Venezuela.

Trump's seizure of Maduro raises thorny legal questions.

This headline is from an article about whether the US Military actions in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolas Maduro broke international law.

The headline says Trump's decision raises thorny legal questions.

So literally, thorns are sharp spikes that are found on some plants.

But thorny can also be used metaphorically to mean difficult or complicated.

Imagine walking through a thorny plant or bush.

So if a question is thorny, it's difficult and not simple to answer or solve.

We can use thorny to describe questions, problems and issues in English.

For example, teachers are struggling to deal with the thorny issue of mobile phones in schools.

We've had thorny, difficult or complicated.

For example, what to do about taxes is a particularly thorny problem for the government.

This is learning English from the news from BBC.

We're talking about President Trump's decision to arrest Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

After the US Action to seize Maduro, President Trump commented on other countries where the US could intervene.

That means get involved in such as Colombia, Mexico and Iran.

Trump has also talked again about wanting to control Greenland, which he says is necessary for U.S. security.

Greenland's Prime Minister, Jens Frederick Nielsen called for a respectful dialogue.

And European leaders have said that Greenland belongs to its people.

Trump's Venezuela raid plunges Greenland and the Western military alliance into uncertainty.

So this headline is about what the US Military action in Venezuela could mean for Greenland and other countries.

The Western military alliance, which means places that usually work together with the US such as the European Union.

We're interested in the phrase plunge into uncertainty.

But plunge makes me think of diving into water.

Beth yes, well, that is the literal meaning.

Plunge as a verb means to move suddenly forwards or downwards, often into something like water.

Plunge can also mean to cause someone to move suddenly, and

that's useful for the meaning in the headline.

Yes, the headline says that Trump's action in Venezuela plunges Greenland into uncertainty.

It's metaphorical and means Trump's actions have caused a sudden sense of uncertainty or worry for and for other US Allies.

We commonly see plunge used with uncertainty.

You can also plunge someone into other negative situations or feelings like despair.

And another common use of plunge, a place can be plunged into darkness.

That means all the lights suddenly go out.

We've had plunge into uncertainty to cause someone to suddenly feel uncertain or worried.

For example, when the venue cancelled their wedding, the couple were plunged into uncertainty.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

If you've enjoyed this program, try our Learning English Grammar podcast.

You can find all episodes@bbclearningenglish.com and follow us on social media.

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