Trump Says The U.S. Will 'Run' Venezuela After Capturing Maduro

The NPR Politics Podcast

NPR

Politics, News, Daily News

4.5 • 24.9K Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2026

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Overnight, the U.S. military launched strikes on Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. We discuss President Trump's announcement that the United States will run Venezuela’s government "until such time as a proper transition can take place," as well as the criminal charges Maduro faces in New York.

This episode: political correspondent Sarah McCammon, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, justice correspondent Ryan Lucas and national security correspondent Greg Myre.

This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.

Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	There's something wrong with the plumbing in Cincinnati. Billions of gallons of raw sewage
0:04.3	ends up in waterways every year. And for some, that raw sewage is a lot closer to home.
0:09.7	When it's coming out of the drain down there, it's sewage. The stench was terrible.
0:14.7	Listen to the Backed Up podcast from the NPR Network and Cincinnati Public Radio.
0:23.9	Hey there. it's the NPR Politics Podcast.
0:26.3	I'm Sarah McCammon. I cover politics.
0:28.4	I'm Frank O'Donias. I cover the White House.
0:30.4	I'm Ryan Lucas. I cover the Justice Department.
0:32.4	And I'm Greg Myrie. I cover national security.
0:35.5	It is 1.45 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, January 3rd.
0:40.4	The United States has captured Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro and his wife,
0:45.4	and both of them are headed to U.S. soil.
0:47.8	A short while ago, President Trump made that announcement.
0:50.2	Late last night and early today, at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an
1:01.5	extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. Overwhelming American military
1:10.6	power, air, land, and sea was used to launch a spectacular
1:15.4	assault. And it was an assault like people have not seen since World War II.
1:23.0	Franco, you've been following this. What can you tell us about how this extraordinary action played out overnight?
1:30.1	Yeah, President Trump said he actually watched the operation in real time from a room in Mara Lago along with some generals.
1:36.9	And one of those generals, Dan Cain, head of the Joint Chief of Staff, gave some details in today's presser.
1:43.0	He said the operation was named Absolute Resolve. He said that
1:46.8	more than 150 aircraft from across the hemisphere were involved. The U.S. actually dismantled
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.