News organizations held off on reporting Venezuela raid  —  The Scoop  —  The New York Times and Washington Post learned of a secret US raid on Venezuela soon before it was scheduled to begin Friday night — but held off publishing what they knew to avoid endangering US troops …

Americans do not want war with Venezuela  —  President Donald Trump announced at a press conference on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 that the United States government had successfully captured Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, and would try him domestically for crime related …

After Maduro Ouster, Trump Takes On the Risks of Governing Venezuela  —  The administration is racing to get an interim government in place, even as pushback from Maduro's allies raise fears of instability  —  With Nicolás Maduro out of power, the Trump administration is racing …

Rubio takes on most challenging role yet: Viceroy of Venezuela  —  The top U.S. diplomat has pushed for regime change for over a decade.  Now the hard part begins.  —  Marco Rubio has held many titles during Donald Trump's presidency.  He may have just acquired his most challenging one yet: Viceroy of Venezuela.

How Trump Fixed On a Maduro Loyalist as Venezuela's New Leader  —  Nicolás Maduro balked at a gilded exile.  U.S. officials then saw a more pliant option in his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, known for stabilizing Venezuela's economy.  —  It was one dance move too many for Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump admin sends tough private message to oil companies on Venezuela … But people in the industry said the administration's message has left them still leery about the difficulty of rebuilding decayed oil fields in a country where it's not even clear who will lead the country for the foreseeable future.

Trump Wants to Unlock Venezuela's Oil Reserves.  A Huge Challenge Awaits.  —  The president wants to put Venezuela's viscous crude into play.  The problem is the world doesn't have much appetite for more oil.  —  Click for Sound  —  For months, the U.S. sold its pressure campaign …

Rubio remains vague on transition plan for Venezuela … But while Rubio told CBS's “Face the Nation” that the U.S. is not occupying Venezuela, he did not reject the idea that it could be a future option from the Trump administration.  —  Trump, Rubio said, “does not feel like he is going to publicly rule …

Mamdani Called Trump to Criticize Venezuela Strikes  —  Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York accused President Trump of violating international law.  It was the first time he had criticized the president since their White House meeting.  —  Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City …

Marco Rubio's Venezuela moment  —  Marco Rubio is suddenly facing his most daunting puzzle in his 28 years in politics.  — The U.S. secretary of state didn't just help mastermind the ouster of Venezuela's dictator on Saturday. … - The world is watching to see whether Venezuela …

January 3, 2026  —  Today was the legal deadline for the Department of Justice to submit to Congress a written justification for any documents from the Epstein files that the department had redacted or withheld.  But it seems unlikely the Justice Department met this deadline because it has missed …

The ‘Putinization’ of US foreign policy has arrived in Venezuela  —  Trump is no longer bending the rules - he is demolishing them, with consequences far beyond Caracas  —  Hardly anyone expected 2026 to be a year of peace, and it was barely two days old when the worst fears were confirmed.