Tag Archives: Maduro

US seizes more tankers, courts oil companies as post-Maduro Venezuela takes shape

| January 13, 2026

In the week following Washington’s arrest of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, regime figures like interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello are jockeying for position and deciding how to move forward. Rodriguez and US President Donald Trump have offered conflicting views on who holds true authority, while the US has provided no established plans for a transition or elections. Simultaneously, the US blockade on sanctioned oil tankers remains in force, and Trump is making efforts to secure 30-50 million barrels of Venezuela’s crude oil while trying to convince US oil companies to invest.

Venezuela Turkey flags

Turkey’s extensive ties with Venezuela bolstered Maduro’s regime despite sanctions and criminal activity

| January 5, 2026

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan long served as a key external backer of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, providing diplomatic protection, economic engagement, and sanctions-evasion pathways that helped sustain Maduro’s regime amid international isolation. Following Maduro’s capture by US forces on January 3, Turkey’s past role as a potential haven and logistical lifeline may come under sharper scrutiny, though Erdogan has notably avoided public criticism of Washington.

United States strikes Venezuela, captures President Maduro (Updated)

| January 3, 2026

On January 3, at around 2 am, the United States military began a wave of airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and surrounding areas. Major military installations were targeted, including Venezuela’s largest army base, Fuerte Tiuna, and the La Carlota airfield. At around 4:30 am, US President Donald Trump wrote that “The United States of America successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.”

How Venezuela’s Maduro became Washington’s most persistent hemispheric adversary

| December 1, 2025

US President Donald Trump has imposed unprecedented military pressure on Venezuela during his second term, including kinetic strikes on alleged drug speedboats. However, this largest buildup of American military power in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 didn’t happen in a vacuum. The US has applied various forms of pressure to counter the authoritarian turn of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro since he took power in 2013.