- 2 months ago
Venezuela is facing one of the worst political and economic crises in modern history. From hyperinflation and food shortages to political unrest and mass migration, this video breaks down the most important facts you need to understand the Venezuela crisis.
Watch till the end to discover shocking realities, hidden reasons, and the real impact of the Venezuela crisis on its people and the world.
👉 Like, Share & Subscribe for more world crisis documentaries.
📌 Channel: watchmojo.world
Watch till the end to discover shocking realities, hidden reasons, and the real impact of the Venezuela crisis on its people and the world.
👉 Like, Share & Subscribe for more world crisis documentaries.
📌 Channel: watchmojo.world
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning.
00:01Thank you for being here.
00:02We obviously have to start with the capture and indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas
00:06Maduro.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:08And today, we're breaking down the Trump administration's capture of Venezuelan President
00:13Nicolas Maduro and its seismic implications.
00:15He gets up there and he tries to imitate my dance a little bit, but he's a violent guy.
00:25The moment everything changed.
00:26Good morning, I'm Alison Kosick, and we're coming on the air this morning to tell you
00:30that President Trump has confirmed that strikes on Venezuela…
00:35Just before dawn on January 3rd, 2026, the long-running standoff between Washington and Caracas crossed
00:41a line that few believed would actually be crossed.
00:44A U.S. operation in Venezuela's capital and largest city ended with Nicolas Maduro being
00:49taken into custody and flown to the United States.
00:52All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military,
00:59working with U.S. law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night.
01:05Within days, the image defining the crisis shifted from smoke and debris in the Venezuelan
01:10capital to a courtroom in Manhattan.
01:12There, Maduro appeared on January 5th, declared that he'd been captured, and insisted he remained
01:18Venezuela's president as he pleaded not guilty to federal charges.
01:22In a single weekend, the conflict moved from sanctions and diplomacy into the realm of precedent-setting
01:27force.
01:29Before January 3rd, this was pressure politics.
01:32After it, the global rules of engagement themselves were up for debate.
01:36Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York, J. Clayton, for their
01:43campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States and its citizens.
01:50I want to thank the men and women of our military who achieved such an extraordinary success overnight.
01:56Decades of pressure, one breaking point.
01:58Yeah, we've really seen a bunch of sanctions get announced in the past couple weeks, specifically
02:04targeting companies and vessels with ties to Venezuela, including some companies involved
02:11in the Venezuela and Iranian weapons trade.
02:13January 2026 didn't come out of nowhere.
02:16It was the breaking point after years of escalating pressure.
02:20Criminal indictments, diplomatic isolation, oil sanctions, and partial rollbacks.
02:25It's not even mentioning repeated warnings that Maduro's inner circle was being treated
02:29less like a government and more like a transnational criminal network.
02:34Over time, law enforcement language blended with national security framing, shrinking the
02:38distance between courtroom logic and military planning.
02:42Secretary Rubio argued the U.S. is at war with drug trafficking operations, not Venezuela,
02:48as President Trump suggested neighboring Colombia could be next.
02:53The top eight congressional leaders are due for a classified briefing today, according
02:57to four sources, with lawmakers in both parties pressing for more information for all of Congress.
03:03By the time the operation happened, the groundwork had already been laid rhetorically and politically.
03:08What changed wasn't the accusation.
03:10It was the willingness to act on it.
03:12That's what makes this moment different from every previous standoff.
03:15Pressure finally gave way to force.
03:17Yeah, there's been a little bit of mixed messaging here is right before Christmas, we heard from
03:22the White House that the that the posture is that they wanted to really focus on economic
03:26sanctions.
03:26So that is, you know, sanctioning vessels, oil tankers, oil companies and sort of using,
03:31you know, what we've seen as sort of intercepting a lot of those oil tankers, you know, and sort
03:34of to exert, you know, financial pressure on Maduro's regime.
03:38The power vacuum and rapid replacement.
03:40We have more breaking news just coming in.
03:42Delce Rodriguez has been sworn in as the new president of Venezuela.
03:46It comes as mixed reactions pour in from around the world after that surprise U.S.
03:52mission in Venezuela.
03:53We should mention Rodriguez used to be the vice president under Nicolás Maduro.
03:58Now she's being sworn in as interim president there.
04:01One of the most striking aspects of the crisis was how quickly and frantically Venezuela's
04:06institutions moved to protect continuity.
04:09Within days of Maduro's removal, Vice President Delce Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president
04:14with the ceremony overseen by National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez.
04:19UBC's Max Cameron has studied Latin American politics for more than three decades.
04:24I think that there's going to be a complicated game of chicken that's going to be played between
04:29Delce Rodriguez and Marco Rubio and Donald Trump.
04:32And where that goes is incredibly uncertain.
04:35It's incredibly difficult to predict.
04:37The speed mattered.
04:38It reassured parts of the bureaucracy and security forces that the state hadn't collapsed.
04:44But it also raised hard questions.
04:46This wasn't a sweeping transition led by the opposition.
04:49It was a handoff within the existing power structure designed to stabilize first and negotiate later.
04:55Whether that choice prevents chaos or simply preserves the system under a new face is now one of the central tensions shaping Venezuela's future.
05:02She has offered some conflicting statements, right, about what exactly, if any, cooperation there would be with the Trump administration.
05:10Initially striking a very defiant tone, then releasing a statement yesterday suggesting that there might be some room for cooperation or at least negotiation.
05:20Oil enters the equation.
05:22Donald Trump has been unambiguous that Venezuelan oil and the commercial opportunity it represents for American companies were a primary reason for the removal of President Maduro.
05:32And that's because Venezuela has the largest oil reserves on earth, an estimated 300 billion barrels lying on tap.
05:39The crisis became global the moment oil entered the conversation, which was pretty much immediately.
05:45Venezuela's vast reserves of the stuff make it impossible to separate politics from energy, and talk of rebuilding, reopening production, and renegotiating access followed fast.
05:56The implication was clear.
05:58Whoever governs next will also decide who gets paid, who gets contracts, and who gets left out.
06:04And today, Venezuela produces less than a million barrels a day.
06:08Now, given there are sanctions in place, it's worth asking where those barrels of oil end up.
06:12And this chart shows us.
06:13These are exports in Venezuela in the last year, and the bulk goes to China, much of it under exemption to repay historic loans.
06:21But the balance goes to the United States, which has granted Chevron a license to operate in Venezuela despite the sanctions.
06:29That reality sharpened international reactions and fueled skepticism at home.
06:34For many Venezuelans, the fear wasn't abstract geopolitics.
06:38It was the worry that regime change might be less about democratic recovery and more around resource management.
06:44Given President Trump's repeated mentions of oil, it's a legitimate concern.
06:49We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.
07:08Not a war, but not neutral either.
07:10Thank you so much for being here.
07:12I want to start with this big picture question.
07:15Is the United States now at war with Venezuela?
07:18There's not a war.
07:22I mean, we are at war against drug trafficking organizations.
07:25It's not a war against Venezuela.
07:27Officially, Trump and the United States insisted that there was no war with Venezuela, but neutrality
07:32wasn't really on offer either.
07:33The operation was framed as enforcement of criminal charges, yet carried out by the military, blurring
07:40lines that international law normally tries to keep bright.
07:43By leaning on drug trafficking and narco-terrorism language, the administration wasn't just making
07:49a legal argument, it was shaping the moral battlefield.
07:52We are enforcing American laws with regards to oil sanctions.
07:56We have sanctioned entities.
07:58We go to court.
07:58We get a warrant.
07:59We seize those boats with oil.
08:00And that will continue.
08:03And we will continue to reserve the right to take strikes against drug boats that are bringing
08:08drugs towards the United States that are being operated by transnational criminal organizations,
08:13including the Cartel de los Soles.
08:16The war on drugs-slash-narco-terrorism justification is a strategic narrative, not just a legal one.
08:22It broadens domestic support, pressures allies to fall in line, and makes critics sound like
08:27defenders of criminality rather than sovereignty.
08:30That framing doesn't resolve the legal debate, but it does change who feels comfortable speaking up.
08:36We expect to see changes in Venezuela, changes of all kinds, long-term, short-term.
08:40We'd love to see all kinds of changes.
08:42But the most immediate changes are the ones that are in the national interest of the United States.
08:45That's why we're involved here, because of how it applies and has a direct impact on the United States.
08:50Red lines and precedents.
08:52The UN reacts.
08:53The 15 members of the United Nations Security Council wrapped up an emergency session just minutes ago.
08:59The meeting was called to discuss the U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro, the talks at the UN headquarters
09:05happening just a short distance away from where the ousted Venezuelan leader was appearing in court.
09:11At the United Nations, the concern wasn't about sympathy for Maduro, it was about the rulebook.
09:16Senior UN officials warned that the operation undermined a core principle of international law,
09:22that states are protected from the use of force against their political independence.
09:26The United Nations top diplomat, Antonio Guterres, was in the process of rushing back to New York,
09:31so his remarks were delivered on his behalf.
09:35I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification, the instability in the country,
09:41the potential impact on the region and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted.
09:49The fear wasn't limited to Venezuela. It was about what happens next time and where.
09:54If a head of state can be seized under an indictment rationale, the boundary between prosecution and intervention starts to dissolve.
10:02Enforcement may be weak, but precedent is powerful. Once a line moves, it rarely moves back.
10:08While none of the states at the Security Council meeting today, or the guest members who spoke there,
10:12directly spoke in favor of the U.S.' actions, some of them did seem to support them by a lack of words.
10:18In essence, the representative from the U.K. gave a very short speech in which he reaffirmed the U.K.'s commitment to international law,
10:26but also reaffirmed that the U.K. does not recognize Maduro as president of Venezuela.
10:30Shock waves at home. How Venezuelans at home and abroad reacted.
10:34Here in Caracas, there's been moments of quiet. Most people have decided to remain at home,
10:43considering today's events. And also, some people have decided to go to the streets, mostly the supporters of Nicolas Maduro.
10:52Inside Venezuela, the mood was unsettled rather than strictly celebratory. Relief, anger, fear and disbelief all coexisted.
11:01Almost immediately, authorities moved to control information. Journalists were detained, phones
11:07searched and coverage restricted around government buildings, signaling that narrative control was
11:12a top priority. In the streets and across the diaspora, reactions split sharply.
11:18From South Florida, Venezuelans erupted in celebration.
11:21This is the biggest choice that I've had in like decades. It's amazing.
11:26Hundreds poured into the streets in Doral, where 40 percent of residents are of Venezuelan
11:31descent.
11:31Oh my god, I'm gonna start crying. It is pretty awesome.
11:36For some, seeing Maduro in a U.S. courtroom felt like long-delayed accountability. For others,
11:41it felt like humiliation imposed from abroad. What was felt most palpably was uncertainty.
11:47The removal of a leader didn't resolve Venezuela's crisis, it reframed it, and raised new questions
11:53about legitimacy, sovereignty, and who gets to decide what's next.
11:58And the former leader of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, told his supporters that in case he
12:06was not present, the people should go out to the streets. Well, we are witnesses like small gatherings
12:13in Caracas mostly, and the majority of Venezuelans remain at home waiting what is going to happen
12:21in the coming hours.
12:22The world weighs in.
12:23South Africa has asked for an emergency meeting of the Security Council. And the U.N. is not alone.
12:30Russia, China, France, and the EU are among the countries and blocs that have said the U.S. may have
12:35broken international rules, while many other nations have stressed the importance of respecting those rules.
12:41Governments around the world faced an awkward balancing act. Many had long criticized Nicolás
12:46Maduro's rule, but far fewer were comfortable endorsing the way he was removed. Major powers
12:52like China and Russia condemned the operation as destabilizing, warning that it blurred the line
12:58between law enforcement and military intervention.
13:01China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the U.S. blatant use of force against a sovereign
13:07state and action against its president. Such homogenic acts of the U.S. seriously violate
13:13international law and Venezuela's sovereignty and threaten peace and security in Latin America
13:18and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it.
13:21European governments, meanwhile, largely avoided a celebratory language, stressing the importance
13:27of international law and urging restraint as events unfolded. If this becomes an accepted tool of
13:33statecraft, no leader can assume immunity based solely on borders. In that sense, the world's
13:39response wasn't just about Venezuela. It was about protecting the rules that smaller and mid-sized
13:44countries rely on when power politics collide with legal norms.
13:48Nicholas Maduro had his chance, just like Iran had their chance, until they didn't and until he didn't.
13:56He yaffed around and he found out.
13:59Washington reacts.
14:01You need to have congressional oversight over this. And more importantly, you still need to have
14:05congressional approval. The president is very clear that he wants to occupy Venezuela. He wants to take
14:10the oil. Nothing in what they've said so far in their justification is a reason why they went to get
14:16Maduro. But going forward, he does not have the approval of Congress, nor the American public
14:21foreign occupation of Venezuela, and he needs to come and ask for that or get rejected for it.
14:26Back in the U.S., the response split along familiar lines, but with unusually high stakes.
14:32Administration officials emphasized decisiveness and secrecy, acknowledging the role of information
14:37control ahead of the operation. American lawmakers demanded briefings and clarity, questioning whether
14:43labeling a military raid as law enforcement sidestepped congressional oversight.
14:47He's a bad guy, of course, and he's going to stand trial in the American court of law at this
14:52particular point in time. It remains to be seen whether the people of Venezuela are going to be
14:56better off. Donald Trump claims that he's going to run Venezuela. He's done a terrible job running
15:01the United States of America. Life hasn't gotten better for the American people over the last year.
15:06Life has gotten worse. He promised to lower the high cost of living. Costs haven't gone down.
15:10They've gone up. Meanwhile, Maduro's own words in court, quote,
15:14I am not guilty. I am the president of my country, became instant fuel for both sides of the debate.
15:19For supporters, it was proof of impunity. For critics, proof of overreach.
15:23Washington didn't just launch an operation. It launched a long argument.
15:28Well, there's been no evidence that the administration has presented to justify the actions
15:33that were taken in terms of there being an imminent threat to the health, the safety,
15:38the well-being, the national security of the American people. This was not simply a
15:44counter-narcotics operation. It was an act of war.
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16:01Neighbors on edge. Colombia and the fear of regional spillover.
16:08Responses have been mixed across the region and along bordering nations. Some Venezuelans
16:13celebrate the development, while others are accusing the US of trying to steal the country's oil.
16:19For Colombia, the crisis was never abstract. Geography makes that impossible. Sharing a long,
16:25porous border with Venezuela, Colombia has already absorbed millions of Venezuelan migrants over the
16:30past decade, reshaping cities, labor markets, and public services. That history explains why
16:36Colombian officials reacted quickly and publicly, warning about regional instability and signaling
16:43military readiness along the border.
16:45Petro responded to the questions that Trump was asked yesterday when he said that Petro might not
16:51be there for much longer. And when he was asked, does this mean that there could be an operation like
16:55Venezuela? And he kind of, you know, quipped or mentioned that that's not a bad idea. Petro responded
17:01today and said what he told me when I interviewed him and asked him about prior threats about Trump.
17:07The concern wasn't just a sudden wave of displaced people, though that risk certainly loomed large.
17:12It was also about armed groups, smugglers, and criminal networks exploiting uncertainty on the
17:18Venezuelan side to expand their influence or move weapons and personnel. For Colombia's government,
17:25even a short period of disorder across the border can have outsized consequences at home,
17:30politically and economically.
17:32Petro in his response said and reminded people in his ex-response that in the past he was a guerrilla
17:39member, he was a member of the M19, a socialist guerrilla, and that he put down his arms but that
17:44he would be willing to pick them back up. And he said that he's commanded that his army stay loyal to
17:49him. So clearly, there is a concern there.
17:52What do you think about the U.S. strikes in Venezuela? What might happen next?
17:56Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
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