What’s happening with the U.S. and Venezuela?
Sources & Methods
NPR
4.9 • 919 Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR international correspondent Carrie Kahn in Bogotá about what she’s hearing from Venezuelans, and NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman about the Trump administration’s plans for the country. Bowman also shares his reporting that the Pentagon will review the role of women in ground combat units.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for NPR and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen. |
| 0:12.6 | The situation that's happened in the last week is so stunning. The pace is so fast. The situation is just so incredible. It's hard to find words for it. |
| 0:23.9 | Just one week ago, Nicholas Maduro was in power, leading his country as president of Venezuela. |
| 0:31.6 | Today, he is sitting in a detention center in Brooklyn, New York. |
| 0:35.9 | What a difference a week makes. This is sources and methods |
| 0:40.4 | from NPR. I'm Mary Louise Kelly every Thursday on this podcast. I dive deep on some of the |
| 0:48.3 | world's biggest national security stories with the NPR reporters who are out and about covering |
| 0:53.0 | them. This week, a certified stalwart of the podcast at this point, Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. Hi, Tom. Hey, Mary Louise. And NPR international correspondent, Carrie Khan, who covers South America, usually from her base in Rio de Janeiro, but today, Carrie, where are you exactly? |
| 1:11.7 | I am in Bogota, Columbia. |
| 1:14.0 | Bogota, Columbia. Fabulous. Well, let's start there today. I will note we're taping it a little |
| 1:19.0 | after 2 p.m. Eastern. That's here in Washington. Same time where you are, Carrie? |
| 1:23.6 | I am on the same time zone. I kind of miss my two-hour buffer when I'm in Rio de Janeiro from headquarters, but I am on the same time zone. I kind of miss my two-hour buffer when I'm in Rio de Janeiro from |
| 1:29.2 | headquarters, but I am on the same time. All right. So let's go back Saturday morning. I know I was |
| 1:37.5 | sound asleep when an editor at NPR headquarters called, woke me up and said, can you come in and anchor live coverage of the Maduro news? |
| 1:47.0 | And my first thought as I was brushing sleep from my eyes was, wait, what Maduro news? |
| 1:52.1 | What happened? |
| 1:53.0 | Carrie, where were you? |
| 1:54.2 | Where were you and how'd you hear? |
| 1:55.7 | Same. |
| 1:56.2 | I was asleep. |
| 1:57.5 | An editor called me to and said that there had been reports of explosions. Then I saw that |
| 2:03.2 | the explosions were in Caracas. And this was big news. We had all been on pins and needles. Will the |
... |
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