WASHINGTON (January 5, 2026) – A large-scale U.S. military strike was carried out against Venezuela, involving explosions in Caracas and other regions as U.S. forces targeted key military installations and ultimately captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in an overnight operation that the U.S. described as successful. The raid has plunged Venezuela into political uncertainty, with interim leadership in place, widespread international condemnation, and debates over legality and regional stability.
Maduro was indicted on four counts of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Experts at the George Washington University are available to provide context and analysis on these developments.
Oil Conflicts:
Robert Weiner is a professor of International Business, Public Policy, Public Administration and International Affairs. He teaches international finance, economics, and strategy and has expertise in Political economy of energy security, oil & conflict, energy crises, resource nationalism, and US-Chinese competition for oil.
International Affairs:
Michael McCarthy is a leading international affairs expert and trusted international strategic advisor. He is the founder and chief executive of two research advisories, Caracas Wire and Ceibo Growth Strategies, and, since 2016, Professorial Lecturer at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. An accomplished team leader, researcher, writer, and bilingual thought leader, he has published widely and regularly provides commissioned expert analysis on Latin America and U.S. foreign policy.
Paula Alonso is a historian of the politics and society of nineteenth and twentieth century Latin America. Her research combines the arena of institutions, citizenship, and electoral processes, the world of print culture, and political thought. She is the author of Between Revolution and the Ballot Box. The Origins of the Argentine Radical Party in the 1890s (CUP, 2000); Jardines secretos, legitimaciones públicas. El Partido Autonomista Nacional y la política argentina de fin del siglo XIX, (Edhasa, 2010); (editor) Construcciones impresas. Panfletos, diarios y revistas en la formación de los estados nacionales en América Latina, 1820-1920, (FCE, 2003); (co-editor) El sistema federal Argentino a fin de siglo XIX. Debates y Coyunturas, (Edhasa, 2015), and has published in the Hispanic American Historical Review and the Journal of Latin American Studies, among other journals.
Alonso said of the recent events involving Venezuela and President Maduro:
“This was an unacceptable military operation with no follow-up plan beyond extracting oil, and ample historical precedent shows these methods do not work. [...] Venezuela needs to rebuild its democracy from the bottom up without outside interference, but at the moment, the only noise is about who is leading the country.”
-GW-