Why 2026 could be Trump's most volatile year yet
The News Agents - USA
Global
4.3 • 719 Ratings
🗓️ 7 January 2026
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The plan to taken down Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, was months in the making. And yet, when it did finally happen, it not only took Caracas by surprise but even Washington was stunned by the speed of the incursion.
What does the operation in Venezuela tell us about how Trump might be planning to take over other territories? Why has he got his eyes on oil tanks, and is he prepared to go battle with Putin? We speak to The Crisis Room's Marc Polymeropoulos.
Later, Tim Walz has ended his campaign to run for Minnesota governor after ongoing fraud accusations became the focus of Republicans. Are fraud claims a new effective weapon for MAGA to attack the Democrats?
The News Agents USA is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents' USA podcast is brought to you by HSBC, UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:09.5 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:12.8 | The plan for the US running Venezuela is vague based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying. |
| 0:24.7 | I did not receive any assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries. And in conclusion, when the United States |
| 0:32.4 | engages in this kind of regime change and so-called nation-building, it always ends up hurting the United |
| 0:40.3 | States. I left the briefing feeling that it would again. That is Senator Chuck Schumer, |
| 0:46.6 | the Democrat Minority Senate Leader, expressing his dissatisfaction with the explanations about what happened in Venezuela and what happens next. |
| 0:58.8 | And if he's worried that there might be further attempts at regime change elsewhere, |
| 1:05.2 | it seems he has good ground to be concerned. |
| 1:09.4 | Welcome to the Newsagents USA. |
| 1:12.8 | The Newsagents USA with Emily Maitliss and John Sopal. |
| 1:17.8 | We're now five days on from the military operation in Venezuela that saw US Special Forces |
| 1:27.4 | capture Nicholas Maduro and his wife. |
| 1:31.5 | Moments later, they're squirreled out of the country, and then they're in New York, in court, |
| 1:37.1 | and now in prison, awaiting trial. |
| 1:40.8 | It's hard to think of a more dizzying few days. The planning, the execution of the operation was |
| 1:48.9 | impeccable and Donald Trump is right to take a victory lap over the way the military conducted |
| 1:57.3 | themselves in this operation. But the questions about what happens next and the role |
| 2:03.1 | of US intelligence services in the future in other operations are only magnifying as we see the |
| 2:11.6 | scale of Donald Trump's global ambition, if you like. You know, we've heard about him talking about |
| 2:17.0 | Colombia recently, |
| 2:19.0 | Cuba, Greenland, threatening Iran. Previously, he's talked about Panama. Is that back in play? |
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