Venezuela is the world’s most oil-rich country, with an estimated 300 billion barrels. For the last eight years, Venezuela has been led by Nicholas Maduro under a technical federal presidential republic, but many people would consider the Venezuelan government to run more as an authoritarian dictatorship.
On Jan. 3, 2026, Operation Absolute Resolve took place. The U.S. Delta Force launched a raid on Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, where Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured. This operation involved a large-scale strike that used about 150 U.S. aircraft to get past the Venezuelan air defenses. During this raid, at least 80 people were killed, including members of the Venezuelan military and members of the Cuban military. No U.S. casualties have been reported.
Since this capture, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodrigues was sworn in as the acting president on Jan. 5, 2026. The last Venezuelan election was in 2024 and ended with two separate results. One was counted by the government agency CNE, and the other was counted by an opposing organization, the Comando Con Venezuela. According to the CNE election, Madura won an extremely close battle with 51% of the votes. The Comando Con Venezuela’s vote shows the other candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, as the winner with 68.74% of the popular vote. Internal monitors and some Venezuelan citizens did not consider this election fair or free, since another candidate, Maria Cornia Machado, was not allowed to participate. She claims that the Madura administration controlled institutions and repressed their political opposition during the election as well as leading up to it.
“Most of my family is in the U.S. now, but I still have other relatives in Venezuela, so when I hear news about the problems there, I get worried. I feel like Venezuela isn’t being looked at enough as an actual country where normal people live,” shared Luis Rivas, a 17-year-old Venezuelan – American. He is uncertain about what the future will look like between the U.S. and Venezuela. He states, “I get why the U.S. is involved, but sometimes it feels like regular people suffer more than the leaders.” Graham Bencsik, a 17-year-old American, remarked, “Less fighting and pressure, I feel like, is always good. Peaceful solutions work better in the long run.”
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until a complete transition of government takes place. He indicated that U.S. officials will oversee this process. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied Trump’s claims, stating that the U.S. government will not “run” Venezuela through their government; they will instead have political and economic control over the country. Trump has claimed that this may last for years. He has considered this operation an application of the “Monroe Doctrine”, his idea of Monroe Doctrine, asserting American dominance over the Western Hemisphere. On Jan. 8, 2026, the U.S Senate voted to approve a war resolution limiting Trump’s power to send the military for further investigation. The results of this vote were 52 – 47.
