January 03, 2026
Ian Bremmer reacts to breaking news from Venezuela: Nicolás Maduro and his wife have been captured in a US special forces operation and removed from power.
After months of escalating pressure, the Trump administration executed a raid backed by CIA assets inside Venezuela’s military. US strikes reportedly neutralized air defenses, allowing Delta forces to extract Maduro with minimal resistance. The result: regime change without a prolonged war or American boots on the ground.
Ian argues this is a major political win for Trump, achieved without large-scale civilian casualties, but warns it reinforces a dangerous precedent. This wasn’t about democracy or drugs. It was about power. “If Trump doesn’t like you and thinks he can take you out, he will,” Ian says.
The move reshapes regional dynamics, raises the stakes for countries like Iran, and underscores a G-zero world where raw power, not rules, increasingly decides outcomes.
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