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The US strike on Venezuela: How did we get here? · The Daily Article

• 0:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Greetings, it's Monday, January 5th, 2026.
• 0:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the Daily Article Podcast from Dinnison Forum.
• 0:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Chris Elkins, narrating today's Daily Article, written by co-founder and visionary Dr. Jim Dinnison.
• 0:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: President Trump announced on truth-social early Saturday morning, the United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela, and its leader, President Nicholas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country.
• 0:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement, in quote.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Later that morning, the president held a news conference from Mara Logo, his Florida residents, in which he stated that the U.S. is, quote, going to run Venezuela until a proper transition can take place."
• 0:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: He added that the U.S. will rebuild the country's oil infrastructure, which, according to Trump, will cost billions of dollars.
• 1:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maduro and his wife arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn late Saturday.
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: They are expected to appear in federal court at noon today.
• 1:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: So how did we get here?
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a country on the northern coast of South America comprising an area of 353,841 square miles about twice the size of California
• 1:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 1498, during his third voyage to the Americas, Christopher Columbus landed near the eastern shore of modern-day Venezuela and commended the region to Spain's leaders.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Spanish colonization started in 1522.
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: The country gained its full independence in 1823 under leader Simone Boulevard.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: The world's largest known oil reserves were discovered there during World War I prompting an economic boom that lasted into the 1980s.
• 1:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: Economic crises then led to a political crisis, the elevation of Huchavas and the adoption of a new constitution in 1999 that created a socialist government.
• 2:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Chavez appointed Nicholas Maduro as Vice President in 2013, Maduro won the presidential election after Chavez's death that year.
• 2:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: In the years since, the country has been racked with economic crises.
• 2:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2017, Maduro barred opposition parties, essentially ruling as a dictator.
• 2:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: He claimed re-election in 2024, but the U.S. and many other countries consider his claim to be illegitimate.
• 2:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: In March 2020, Maduro was charged in the Southern District of New York for Narco Terrorism conspiracy to import cocaine and other crimes.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: The U.S. State Department has identified him as the leader of the Cartel of the Sun's eight drug trafficking organization comprised of high-ranking Venezuela officials.
• 3:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: He has allegedly negotiated multi-tonshipments of cocaine and facilitated large-scale drug trafficking.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to the U.S. Justice Department, his regime has caused tons of cocaine to enter and devastate American communities.
• 3:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: In January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order paving the way for criminal organizations and drug cartels to be named foreign terrorist organizations.
• 3:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: They included Trendey Araqua translated, trained from Araqua, a Venezuelan street gang.
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: On August 19th, the U.S. military deployed naval forces to the waters off Venezuela.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: On September 2nd, the U.S. carried out its first strike against what the president said was a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela and was operated by Trin De Aragua.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: The U.S. military carried out numerous strikes against drug boats in the weeks following and seized oil tankers involved in what Attorney General Pam Bondi called an illicit oil-shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.
• 4:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: President Trump stated Saturday that he had given Maduro several chances to step down in recent weeks, but Maduro had refused.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: As a result, on January 3, the U.S. conducted a quote-unquote large-scale strike across Caracas to capture Maduro in his wife, Celia Flores, and fly them out of the country.
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Critics immediately decried these actions as illegal since the president did not secure congressional approval beforehand.
• 4:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, Yale constitutional professor, Jed Rubinfeld, wrote that what Mr. Trump did in Venezuela, quote, is almost certainly legal.
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, the U.S. did the very same thing in Panama four decades ago, and the courts upheld it after years of litigation and careful consideration.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: He notes that, like some 50 other countries, the U.S. does not recognize the Maduro regime as Venezuela's legitimate government.
• 4:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: This matters because foreign heads of state are immune from prosecution in the U.S.
• 5:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Professor Rubinfield adds that there has been an outstanding arrest warrant for Maduro since 2020 based on his indictment that year.
• 5:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: This warrant, together with the indictment, quote, satisfies the constitutional requirement for an arrest.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, Rubenfeld also writes that Trump plans to run Venezuela for the foreseeable future is much murkier, noting that it is almost universally accepted that the President has no power to make war without Congress's consent.
• 5:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: While a targeted mission to seize a fugitive is not war, and Presidents across several administrations have conducted limited military missions, quote, a protracted boots on the ground invasion
• 5:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: and take over of another country, probably is the making of war as a constitutional matter, in quote.
• 5:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: As a result, Rubenfeld believes that the War Powers Act will apply, and the administration will have to obtain congressional approval if our military presence in Venezuela last longer than 60 days.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: President Trump surprised many when he announced Saturday that the U.S. would run the country until such a time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.
• 6:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Trump stated, we want peace, liberty, and justice for the great people of Venezuela, adding, we can't take a chance that someone else takes over that doesn't have the good of the people of Venezuela in mind, in quote.
• 6:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Mr. Trump explained that U.S. oil companies will rebuild the country's oil infrastructure, which will generate wealth for the nation and reimburse the U.S. for its work on Venezuela's behalf.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: The country's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was named Interim President by Venezuela's Supreme Court.
• 6:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: She later appeared on State Television to demand Maduro's release, calling him the only president.
• 6:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, she has reportedly impressed the Trump administration with her management of Venezuela's crucial oil industry, and officials are optimistic that they can work with her going forward.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: By contrast, opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Carina Machado, called for Edmondo Gonzalez-Urotea, whom her party claims won the 2024 election to a soon power.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: The role of Venezuela's military going forward is a vital component as well, senior and retired officers control food distribution, raw materials, and the state oil company, as well as dozens of private firms, many profit from illicit trade as do widespread pro-government malicious.
• 7:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: China, Russia, and Iran have supplied Venezuela with financial, economic, and military aid in recent years.
• 7:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: All were quick to condemn the US action, but it remains to be seen how they will otherwise respond.
• 7:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: As the Guardian reports, reaction in the US has been starkly polarized along political lines,
• 7:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: With Republican celebrating the enforcement of the indictment against Maduro, and Democrats quote, Decrying what they see as a violation of Venezuela's right to self-determination.
• 8:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Tomorrow, I plan to offer several biblical responses for today.
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's close with this reflection.
• 8:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Of all the comments I have heard and read since the news broke early Saturday, one statement has especially resonated with me.
• 8:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: noted that any likely scenario would be better for the Venezuelan people than they were experiencing under Maduro.
• 8:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: His observation points to this fact, while we understandably focus on geopolitics and implications for America, Jesus loves every Venezuelan, as much as he loves every American.
• 8:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: He died for them, just as he died for us.
• 8:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's praying for them right now, just as he's praying for us, according to Romans 834.
• 8:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: He grieves for the turmoil and suffering they have experienced in recent decades.
• 8:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: The closer we draw to our Savior, the more we will love them as he does.
• 9:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: The late 14th and early 15th centuries, Julianne of Norwich wrote, God is the ground and the substance, the very essence of nature.
• 9:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: God is the true father and mother of natures.
• 9:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: We are bound to God by nature, and we are bound to God by grace.
• 9:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And this grace is for all the world.
• 9:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Do you agree?