Venezuela, January 3, 2026: Drugs, Oil… or a New Monroe Doctrine?
Venezuela, January 3, 2026: Drugs, Oil… or a New Monroe Doctrine? By Amarjeet Singh @ AJ In the early hours of Saturday, January 3, 2026 , the world watched something most people thought belonged to history books — not modern headlines. Explosions were reported across parts of Caracas. Air strikes hit military-linked sites. And within hours, the United States said it had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores , and flown them out of the country to face charges in the United States. This wasn’t just another diplomatic crisis. This was a hard reset — on regional stability, on international law, and on how power is used in the so-called “rules-based order”. But here’s the real question: Was this really about drugs… or was that just the wrapper? A 20-Second Reality Check What we know (as reported by major outlets) The US carried out strikes in Venezuela, and Maduro + Flores were taken to the US. A legal phase began in US ...