The world marks the start of 2026 with a high-stakes face-off between Washington and Caracas. As the man who seized their government, Nicolás Maduro, cools his heels in a New York jail cell thanks to a U.S. military raid. His top allies are far from ready to throw in the towel back home. The captors, no doubt, are on the side of a better Venezuela.
Maduro in a New York Cell
Nicolás Maduro is currently being held in a Brooklyn, New York jail. He was flown there on Saturday after U.S. elite forces swept down and seized Mr. López and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in Caracas. The images of the treatment that the 63-year-old leader has received in handcuffs have outraged people across Latin America, and the intervention was one of the most aggressive made by the United States in almost four decades.
He is due in court on Monday, January 5 to answer to charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. American officials assert that Maduro led a criminal organisation for many years, using it to shuttle huge amounts of drugs to the United States. Maduro has always denied such allegations, but now he will have the entire might of the American legal system against him.
Defiance from the Venezuelan VP
There is also a general concern that, should Maduro be gone, it would not lead to the collapse of the power structure in Venezuela. Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has been empowered by the country’s highest court to assume leadership on an interim basis. Standing on state television beside the country’s top generals, in a fiery denunciation that the armed forces would no longer recognise him as president.
“In this country, there is only one president, and that’s Nicolás Maduro,” she said, describing the United States raid as a “barbaric” and illegal act. Although President Trump announced in a press conference that Rodríguez was willing to work with the U.S., her public behaviour has painted a wholly different picture. She has called for the immediate release of Maduro and urged the people in Venezuela to remain united against what she calls “imperialist aggression.”
A Tight Circle of Loyalists
The other government leaders, known as “Chavistas,” are currently holding together. This group continues to dominate the most crucial parts of the country, such as its military and the world’s biggest oil reserves.
• The Civilian Side: Headed by Delcy Rodríguez, who doubles as oil minister and knows the industry better than anyone in the inner circle.
• The Military Side: Directed by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who asked the public to stay calm and remain loyal to the “revolution.”
And because these leaders have not ceded the keys to the country, there is a “legitimacy trap.” The U.S. says it will “run” Venezuela until a new government is in place, but the people who are actually in the offices in Caracas show no sign of departing soon. This has created a perilous vacuum in which no one really knows who is in control of the streets.
Muted Streets and Global Outcry
In Caracas, the city was tense and calm on Sunday. And while some are celebrating the fact that Maduro is no longer in power, many people are refusing to leave their homes and fearing what will happen next. Some bakeries and shops opened for a couple of hours so people could buy food, but most residents are simply “enduring the fear” as they wait to find out whether a new conflict will emerge.
The response has been divided around the world. Russia, China and Cuba, among other countries have strongly condemned the U.S. move saying it is a violation of international law. The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet on Monday to address the capture. In the meantime, the world is watching to see whether the last of his remaining loyalists buckle or if this standoff turns into a wider fight over Venezuela’s future.
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