On Jan. 3, 2026, United States forces conducted a large-scale military operation in Venezuela, striking strategic locations such as Caracas and capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, under the administration of President Trump. Maduro was flown to the U.S., where he now faces federal drug-trafficking and narcoterrorism-related charges in New York. The U.S. now claims control over Venezuelan oil exports indefinitely and plans to sell tens of millions of barrels on global markets. After Maduro’s removal, Delcy Rodríguez (formerly Vice President) was sworn in as interim president—a temporary leader who steps in when a country’s presidency becomes vacant—by Venezuela’s Supreme Court. However, the U.S. does not recognize Rodríguez as an elected leader and has called for “free and fair elections.”
Many Venezuelans report a tense, uneasy atmosphere in the air preceding the previous events. Some have been reported to be celebrating this shift in governmental authority. This is due in part to President Nicolás Maduro being a figure disliked by many due to his authoritarian and, what some have referred to as, dictatorial governing style. At the same time, countless Venezuelans have condemned what they say is an act of war and continuation of the long history of U.S. neocolonialist military actions in Latin America.
Many Latin American nations have reacted to the recent events, stressing that this conflict affected not just Venezuela but many surrounding regions and individuals as well.
Cuba suffered many losses due to the conflict as well. Alongside two dozen Venezuelan officers, 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela were also killed in the attack. The two nations have shared a political vision of state-led socialism since around 1999, and Venezuela is known to be Cuba’s primary source of oil, delivering around 35,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba, making Venezuela its main energy partner for the resource. Now, as a result of the Trump administration’s tactic of confiscating sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, the fuel and electricity crisis in Cuba has already begun to severely worsen.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has also been outwardly critical of the Trump Administration’s strike on Venezuela, expressing his strong opposition to the entire situation. The U.S. and Colombian governments are known to have recently rising tensions as Petro and Trump have been engaged in what can only be described as a “spiraling war of words”. U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that a U.S. military operation in Colombia “sounds good to me.” In response, Petro called for countless Colombians to take to the streets “to stand up for their nation’s sovereignty in response to Trump’s insults and military intervention threats.” These high tensions have even caused Petro to state that if necessary, he will take up arms against the United States to defend his nation.
Social Studies and AP Comparative Government teacher Mr. Miller shared his opinions on the situation in Venezuela. “It’s … great, really, that Maduro is no longer leading the country. He seems to be almost universally hated by all different political parties throughout the West … and he seemed like a really terrible guy. So I think Maduro being gone is fantastic,” he stated. “It feels very weird that the U.S. is just openly saying, ‘we’re going to take the oil.’”
Similarly, when asked about the conflict, History and Social Studies teacher Ms. Hassan stated, “The U.S. actions are definitely an overstep in something that we haven’t seen in a while. And so while Venezuelans might be excited to some extent, it’s still shocking [as a U.S. resident] to see it happen, especially without it being approved by [congress] or congress even really knowing beforehand.”
On the topic of the United States’ possible next steps, Ms. Hassan spoke about possible rising tensions between the U.S. and Greenland if President Trump streamlines for a resource-oriented goal.
“If it is a pure resource grab, then the country that the United States would look to next would be Greenland. Unfortunately, if that happens, that essentially would cause the crumbling of the post-World War II world order—it’s the United States attacking an ally in Denmark, destroying NATO in an instant.” Considering the peace NATO’s alliances brought after World War II, a break in this alliance could be catastrophic for countless nations.
Mr. Miller commented on the implications of this situation on the U.S., saying, “I think the biggest impact that it’s going to have is on U.S. foreign policy. I think there are a lot of countries around the world that are looking at the United States and going, ‘We don’t know what they’re thinking anymore.’ They’re taking actions and removing dictators without letting anybody know.” Commenting on Russia and Iran’s allies with Venezuela, he stated, “I think … this is a big blow to them since Venezuela is not working with … their oil anymore.”
The situation is important for students to learn about, especially because of the effects that it has on people in our own communities. “I think a lot of the actions that take place have direct impacts on students … there’s also something like 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States with temporary protective status. … And there are some students or people in the Raleigh area, and Venezuelans in American high schools,” Mr. Miller remarked. “The administration said that since Maduro’s gone, they’re going to remove the [temporary protective] status for those 600,000 Venezuelans … that’s 600,000 people in the U.S that are directly affected.”
In addition to prominent impacts on Venezuelan students at Enloe, Ms. Hassan emphasized the importance of staying educated on world events. “Staying informed is always important, so you know what’s going on, but especially because by the time everyone leaves [Enloe], if you’re a citizen of the United States, you’ll be able to vote, and it’s ultimately those people in charge who will make the decisions about what happens to the future of this country and its students. Even if you think it doesn’t impact you, it does.”
Works Cited:
https://apnews.com/article/colombia-petro-trump-venezuela-maduro-eaf98a41ae427a2d218910606a6fa3e0
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/photos-show-venezuelans-react-to-maduros-capture/
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/06/world/venezuela-maduro-us-trump
https://www.csis.org/events/what-just-happened-venezuela-and-what-comes-next
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9vg0w9w28o
https://missionlocal.org/2026/01/sf-venezuela-protest-trump-maduro/
