Big Questions After Trump Says U.S. Will ‘Run’ Venezuela

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

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4 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2026

⏱️ 17 minutes

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Summary

The U.S. is pledging to run Venezuela until there is a transition of power, after capturing President Nicolás Maduro in an overnight raid. WSJ Washington coverage chief Damian Paletta and national security reporter Vera Bergengruen join host Luke Vargas to discuss the significance of President Trump staking his legacy on a potentially complex nation-building project, the uncertain way oil companies fit into the mix, and how the world is reacting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, What's News listeners, it's Saturday, January 3rd.
0:06.6	I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News Sunday?
0:11.2	We're coming to you early this weekend to dig into the big questions following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and President Trump saying the U.S. will be running the country.
0:22.1	We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.
0:30.4	We've got a lot to cover, so let's get right to it.
0:36.6	It unfolded under the cover of darkness in a mission involving more than 150 aircraft
0:42.5	and the same special forces regiment that participated in the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.
0:47.9	The U.S. staged a raid on Venezuela overnight that culminated in the capture of the country's
0:53.6	president Nicolas Maduro.
0:56.2	Maduro and his wife were extracted from Venezuela aboard helicopters, brought to a U.S.
1:01.1	warship in the Caribbean, and are being transferred to New York, where he's expected to face
1:06.1	trial.
1:07.2	The Justice Department today charged him and five others with playing roles in a drug trafficking network and working with groups the U.S. considers foreign terrorist organizations.
1:17.2	Maduro has previously denied those charges.
1:20.6	But the news doesn't end there because when President Trump held a press conference in Florida, we learned that even though the mission dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve is over, the U.S. isn't leaving Venezuela.
1:33.3	We can't take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn't have the good
1:38.3	of the Venezuelan people in mind. We've had decades of that. We're not going to let that happen. We're there now, and what people
1:49.5	don't understand, but they understand, as I say this, we're there now, but we're going to stay
1:57.8	until such time as the proper transition can take place.
2:03.4	Joining us to make sense of the day's events, I'm joined by Wall Street Journal Washington
2:07.3	coverage chief Damian Palletta and Journal National Security reporter Vera Bergen grew in.
2:12.5	Damian, let me start with you. It's been quite the day. We woke up knowing we were going to be
	...

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