stan van houcke: LIVE: Trump boasts about abduction of Venezuela’s Maduro amid global outcry

dinsdag 6 januari 2026

LIVE: Trump boasts about abduction of Venezuela’s Maduro amid global outcry

00:54

World safety at risk after US military intervention in Venezuela

By Brian Osgoodand Farah Najjar

Members of the United Nations Security Council, including allies of the United States, have condemned Washington’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
US President Donald Trump says Maduro’s abduction was “brilliant” and threatens further military action against Venezuela, as well as against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has dismissed the threat as “illegitimate”.

70 UpdatesAuto-updates

10m ago
(21:15 GMT)
Oil CEOs expected to visit White House: Report
‍US ‍Oil CEOs are expected to visit the ⁠White House as ‍early as Thursday to discuss ‍investments in Venezuela, ⁠according to three sources familiar with the planning.
The ‌details and timing of the meeting ‌are still ‌under discussion, one ⁠of the sources said, according to the Reuters news agency.
The meetings are crucial to the Trump administration’s hopes of getting top US oil companies back into the South American nation after its government, nearly two decades ago, took control of US-led energy operations there.
25m ago
(21:00 GMT)
Potential fissures in Venezuelan armed forces could become source of instability
While officials from the Maduro government appear to be in firm control of Venezuela, analysts have said that possible fissures within the government, and in particular the armed forces, could destabilise the country amid the power vacuum created by the US abduction of Maduro.
“The key issue is whether the armed forces remain united in support of the government. If they do, then we have peace, basically an undemocratic peace, but we avoid at least the risk of civil war or some kind of protracted domestic upheaval, potentially protracted, low-intensity warfare,” said Phil Gunson, a senior analyst for the Andes region at the International Crisis Group, a think-tank that analyses conflict and insecurity.
“So far it looks as if the armed forces are holding together. There’s no evidence of a split in the armed forces. That would be the most dangerous scenario.”
“I think Trump has concluded, and people around him have concluded that, without the support of the military, without an agreement with the military in Venezuela, the country is ungovernable,” he added. “And Maria Corina [Machado] cannot guarantee that.”
40m ago
(20:45 GMT)
Macron says he does not believe US will violate sovereignty of Denmark
The French president downplayed suggestions that the US could seize Greenland, saying that he does not believe the US would violate the sovereignty of Denmark, a longtime US ally.
“I cannot imagine a scenario in which the United States of America would be placed in a position to violate Danish sovereignty,” Macron told the news outlet France 2. “Greenland is a territory under Danish sovereignty, and it will remain so,” he added.
On Monday, Trump aide Stephen Miller said that Greenland should be part of the US and that nobody would resist the US military over Greenland.
55m ago
(20:30 GMT)
Vance initially ‘sceptical’ of operation to abduct Maduro
The vice president said in an interview on The Scott Jennings Show that when he was presented with details for the potential operation, “I think all of us were kind of sceptical, like can you actually do this, go into a foreign country, take zero dead Americans and actually, you know, take this indicted narcoterrorist, Nicholas Maduro?”
He said the operation was carried out “flawlessly.”
Vance said the abduction of Maduro will result in, among other things, cheaper petrol and energy for Americans.
“Most importantly, it’s going to mean that we have more control over the energy resources that exist in the world, to achieve better economic results for our people and to use those energy resources as leverage to achieve greater peace and prosperity,” Vance said.
1h ago
(20:15 GMT)
Caracas and Washington in talks to export Venezuelan oil to US: Reuters
Venezuelan and US ⁠officials are discussing exporting ‍Venezuelan crude to the United States, five ‍government, ⁠industry and shipping sources have reportedly told Reuters.
US refineries on the ‌Gulf Coast can process Venezuela’s crude and have imported ‌it in ‌the past, ⁠before the US imposed sanctions on Venezuela.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Trump administration dismissed ‍analysts’ estimates that it would take years to ramp up Venezuela’s crude production.
Raising crude output from the South American nation, which sits on the world’s largest oil reserves, is a top objective for President Donald Trump after US forces abducted Venezuela’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a raid on its capital, ⁠Caracas, on Saturday.
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said one ‍option was for Washington to lift sanctions on Venezuela that had prevented the country from accessing crucial oil field equipment and other technologies to maximise production.
“Some of these things could be done very quickly,” he told Fox Business Network in an interview. “The opportunity on the business side here is really enormous.”
3:00
How US statements on Venezuela shifted, from drugs to oil
1h ago
(20:00 GMT)
Cuba releases some details about military members killed in US attacks
The Cuban government has announced two days of mourning for 32 members of the country’s armed forces killed in US strikes on Venezuela over the weekend.
Among those reported killed were colonels, lieutenants, majors, captains, and reserve soldiers, who ranged in age between 26 and 60. Cuban state media reported that they were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the country’s two main security agencies.
“Our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism, falling after fierce resistance in direct combat against the attackers, or as a result of the bombing of the facilities,” an official statement said.
1h ago
(19:45 GMT)
Trump ally says US in charge of Venezuela ‘for good reason’
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish foreign policy figure and longtime supporter of US military intervention, has addressed criticism of the Trump administration’s approach towards Venezuela and said that elections can be held once the country is “stabilised” at an unspecified future time.
“To the wild Liberal media: President Trump and America are in charge of Venezuela for a good reason,” Graham said in a social media post.
“We are working with remnants of the Maduro regime to get an outcome that will build up the country and eventually allow for regime change – through the ballot box. There is no reason to have large amounts of American troops to achieve this goal as long as the current leadership works with the Trump Administration in this effort.
“The only regime change I’m looking for in Venezuela will come at the appropriate time, after the country has been stabilized and its people can change the regime through the ballot box with a free and fair election.”
1:07
Lindsey Graham ICC reactions
1h ago
(19:30 GMT)
Canadian Indigenous governor general will visit Greenland
Prime Minister Mark Carney says that Canada’s Indigenous governor general and foreign minister will visit Greenland in early February, a show of support for the self-governed Danish territory, which the US has insisted it will seize.
Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Governor General Mary Simon, who is of Inuk descent, are expected to open a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. A large share of Greenland’s 56,000 people are of Inuit descent.
“The future of Greenland and Denmark are decided solely by the people of Denmark,” Carney said during a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at Canada’s embassy in Paris.
2:02
Greenland warns Trump against any ‘fantasies’ of annexation
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