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Richard Masson, Vice-Chair of the World Petroleum Council, says Venezuela’s oil production has been in long-term decline and there has been a ‘huge overreaction’ with what this means for Canada.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said new Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez was cooperating in the wake of the US military invasion into Venezuela’s capital that led to the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday, January 3, 2026.
Trump added his plans initially anticipated having to send in American forces again following the first operation, but that he currently does not believe a second attack will be necessary.
Still, Trump insisted that the US is “at war with people that sell drugs,” not with Venezuela.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty on Monday in New York City federal court to drug trafficking charges.
Source:
Jacob Wendler, Politico: Trump says he’s prepared to send more US troops to Venezuela if interim president doesn’t cooperate
The division of the world into spheres of influence implies that smaller countries cannot influence events, and it’s a grave mistake to imagine Venezuelans won’t try. Many of them wanted an American intervention, are overjoyed that Maduro is gone, and no wonder: He and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, together turned the richest country in South America into the poorest, fortifying their ugly security state with guns and surveillance systems purchased from autocracies around the world.
But now that Maduro is gone, the people who fought for years for justice, freedom, and self-determination aren’t going to want to live in a Trump-backed dictatorship staffed with Maduro’s cronies. One Venezuelan exile, who requested anonymity because of risks to his family, told me that on Saturday, he felt like he was on a roller coaster. First the elation of Maduro’s exit, then the shock of Trump’s press conference, then the angry realization that maybe nothing has changed and he still can’t go home.
Clearly, there was little planning for what would transpire after the illegal invasion and abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
On Sunday night, January 4, 2026:
“And don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial.”
“What does that mean?” a reporter asked.
“It means we’re in charge,” the Trump said.
On Sunday morning, January 4, 2026, in a testy exchange later on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’, Rubio complained that people were “fixating” on Trump’s declaration at a news conference in Florida on Saturday that the US government would run Venezuela. He added that “it’s not running — it’s running policy, the policy with regards to this.”
Rubio said on CBS that the US naval force that Trump massed in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela over recent months — “one of the largest naval deployments in modern history, certainly in the Western Hemisphere” — would remain in place to enforce the quasi blockade, with the aim of “paralyzing that portion of how the regime, you know, generates revenue.”
Source:
Edward Wong, NYT: Trump says US is ‘In Charge’ of Venezuela, while Rubio stresses coercing it
Aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall,” and “Colombia is very sick too.” That comes one day after the US military and civilian agencies illegally invaded Venezuela and abducted President Nicolás Maduro.
On Sunday, January 4, 2026, Trump renewed his calls for an US takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland.
As at December 31, 2025, at least 115 people have been killed by US military in 35 boat strikes that started September 2, 2025.
The US military and civilian forces killed at least another 80 people, including civilians, during the illegal invasion and abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on January 3, 2026.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on January 3, 2026 that 32 Cuban military and intelligence personnel were killed during the illegal US operation.
US officials claim ‘around’ 6 US soldiers were injured. None were reported killed.
Sources:
Isabela Espadas Barros Leal and Genevieve Glatsky, NYT: A timeline of rising tension between the US and Venezuela
Jack Nicas, NYT: Cuba says 32 of its citizens died in Venezuela, including military personnel
CNN is reporting the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) carried out a drone strike on a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast. The US Government is claiming, without producing evidence, the facility was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and move them onto boats for shipping.
Sources told CNN no one was at the facility at the time of the drone strike, and there were no casualties.
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