Reporting on the invasion of Venezuela

Summary

Podcast Summary

Consider This from NPR

Episode: Reporting on the invasion of Venezuela
Date: January 10, 2026
Host: Sarah McCammon
Guest: Eder Peralta, NPR International Correspondent

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Overview

This episode of "Consider This" dives into the US-led special forces operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. NPR’s Sarah McCammon speaks with international correspondent Eder Peralta, who is reporting from Colombia near the Venezuelan border. The conversation explores the challenges of frontline journalism amidst crisis, escalating political consequences in the region, and parallels to historic US interventions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Operation: Capturing Maduro

• Breaking News: Americans awoke to news of US special forces entering Venezuela, capturing Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores.
  • “Last Saturday, Americans woke up to the news that US Special forces had swooped into Venezuela and captured the country's leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Celia Flores.” – Sarah McCammon (00:01)
• Details of Detainment: Maduro was quickly transferred to a federal detention center in Brooklyn, NY, after his extradition.
  • “Maduro had a federal detention center in Brooklyn, New York. He arrived in the US by plane, and then he was put on a helicopter, which flew right in front of the Statue of Liberty before landing in Brooklyn.” – Eder Peralta (00:11)

On-the-Ground Reporting Challenges

• Immediate Response: Eder Peralta describes the frenetic initial hours, rapidly contacting sources in Venezuela and even Cuba to confirm and understand the events.
  • “The first thing you do is…calling every government source you can possibly find in Venezuela, the people you had been talking to. You start calling, you know, even like, my Cuban sources to see if they had anything to say.” – Eder Peralta (00:29)
• Logistics and Border Difficulties:
  • Venezuela had closed its airspace and airports.
  • Journalists require a visa, which few international journalists possess.
  • Peralta and others gathered at the border city of Cúcuta, Colombia, seeking access.
  • “Venezuela is a special case...the airport was closed because the airspace was closed. And then...the government of Venezuela requires a journalist visa for you to get in there. And so we don't have one of those.” – Eder Peralta (00:58)

The Consulate and Visa Ordeals (03:53)

• Consulate Bottleneck:
  • Dozens of journalists flocked to the Venezuelan consulate at the border, all vying for entry.
  • The consulate enforces strict rules and arbitrary dress codes (e.g., no shorts), and bureaucratic hurdles (sloppy handwriting on visa forms leads to rejections).
  • “This little Venezuelan consulate is just...mobbed by journalists. And we're all asking the same question, which is can you please give us journalist visa? And they just have put us through the wringer. They, they threw people out who were wearing shorts.” – Eder Peralta (03:53)

Risks of Reporting & Safety Calculus

• Physical and Legal Risks:
  • Weighing the risk of crossing into Venezuela, with dangers of being detained or expelled.
  • NPR’s policy is to declare their journalist status transparently, adding to complications.
  • “A lot of what we do that never gets on air...is trying to figure out, even if I do make it past that border crossing, what happens afterwards. Can I make a 12 hour ride to Caracas without getting sent back or getting thrown in prison?” – Eder Peralta (05:37)

Regional Protests and Public Reaction (06:14)

• Anti-American Sentiment:
  • Protests in Colombia’s right-wing stronghold, Cúcuta, feature around 200 people chanting, “No, no, no, we will not be an American colony.”
  • “We heard a lot of anger about what the United States had just done.” – Eder Peralta (06:34)
• Complex Latin American Views:
  • Protesters express solidarity with the Venezuelan people and skepticism of both US and local leadership.
  • Expressed frustration reflects deeper regional dynamics and echoes similar protests within Venezuela itself.
  • “We know the real suffering of the Venezuelan people. We've received millions of people. ... And President Trump should have started with him first, right?” – Quoted by Eder Peralta, retelling a protestor’s remarks (06:34)

Historical Perspective (07:40)

• US Military Interventions:
  • Peralta contextualizes the Venezuela operation as the most significant US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion.
  • “The United States hasn't done something like this since 1989, when President George H.W. Bush sent troops into Panama to extract Manuel Noriega.” – Eder Peralta (07:40)

Journalism in a Changing World (08:28)

• Increasing Restrictions on Journalism:
  • Governments, including those in Latin America, Ethiopia (during the civil war), and Gaza, are increasingly restricting access for international media.
  • “What governments across the world have learned is that they don't have to allow journalists into their country.” – Eder Peralta (08:43)
• Impact on Coverage:
  • Less international scrutiny during crises can mean major events go underreported or misrepresented.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On evolving press freedoms:
  • “In an odd way, I feel like the world is changing, governments are changing. And what governments across the world have learned is that they don't have to allow journalists into their country.” – Eder Peralta (08:43)
• On patience in journalism:
  • “I think they just make you patient, honestly.” – Eder Peralta, about how past experiences have prepared him for current reporting (08:43)
• On the basic risks of entering Venezuela:
  • “Can I make a 12 hour ride to Caracas without getting sent back or getting thrown in prison?” – Eder Peralta (05:37)
• On the practical absurdity of the visa process:
  • “If you filled [a visa form] out in bad handwriting, they would throw it out and, and make you buy a new form.” – Eder Peralta (04:34)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:01-00:22 — Recap of the US Operation to Capture Maduro
• 00:29-01:30 — How the story broke and initial journalistic response
• 01:51-03:06 — Obstacles to journalistic access in Venezuela
• 03:29-04:49 — Reporting from the border and consular challenges
• 05:31-05:50 — Weighing safety and ethical risks in reporting
• 06:14-07:40 — Protests in Colombia; Latin American reactions and historical context
• 08:28-10:07 — Reflections on the evolution of press freedom and access

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Conclusion

Through vivid storytelling and honest reflection, Eder Peralta gives listeners a window into the perilous logistics and ethical complexities of reporting on international interventions. This episode underscores the importance—and increasing difficulty—of frontline journalism during pivotal world events.

“No, no, no, we will not be an American colony.”
– Colombian protestors, as reported by Eder Peralta (06:34)

Transcript

[Sarah McCammon]

Last Saturday, Americans woke up to the news that US Special forces had swooped into Venezuela and captured the country's leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Celia Flores.

[Eder Peralta]

Maduro had a federal detention center in Brooklyn, New York. He arrived in the US by plane, and then he was put on a helicopter, which flew right in front of the Statue of Liberty before landing in Brooklyn.

[Sarah McCammon]

NPR international correspondent Eder Peralta is based in Mexico. And it was just before dawn when he got wind of the story.

[Eder Peralta]

You're awoken by your editor right at in the middle of the night, and you see that number and you, like, turn around and you're like, the first thing you do is, like, you know, what happened, right? And so, you know, the first thing you start doing is you start calling every government source you can possibly find in Venezuela, the people you had been talking to. You start calling, you know, even like, my Cuban sources to see if they had anything to say.

[Sarah McCammon]

At the same time, he started thinking, where could he go to chase the story?

[Eder Peralta]

Venezuela is a special case in the Western Hemisphere, right, because one, the airport was closed because the airspace was closed. And then two, the government of Venezuela requires a journalist visa for you to get in there. And so we don't have one of those. And so you start thinking like, okay, if we can't go, get it straight into Caracas, which is exactly where you want to go. The next best thing is to get as close to it as possible, which.

[Sarah McCammon]

Meant right on the border.

[Interviewer/Host]

We've reached NPR's Eder Peralta in the city of Cucuta in Colombia, just on the border with Venezuela. Hi there.

[Eder Peralta]

So, you know, we've made it within eyesight of Venezuela, but we have not gotten permission to go in as journalists. You know, we've still been talking to people who are coming in and out of Venezuela.

[Sarah McCammon]

Consider this. Sometimes just getting in place to cover a story is the hardest part of reporting. Coming up, we hear about the obstacles keeping some journalists out of Venezuela Club. From NPR, I'm Sarah McCammon.

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[Sarah McCammon]

It's Consider this NPR international correspondent Eder Peralta has covered conflicts and crises from East Africa to Latin America. His latest deployment has taken him to Colombia, where he's been covering the fallout from the US Intervention in Venezuela. For this week's Reporter's Notebook, I started by asking Eder how he and his team were trying to cross into Venezuela.

[Eder Peralta]

I always say that, like, you know, 90% of journalism is, is waiting. There's a small consulate, Venezuelan Consulate here, and, you know, there's, there's dozens of international journalists here. That bridge is just, it's full and teeming with journalists trying to do the same exact thing that we're trying to do, which is to get into Venezuela. And so this little Venezuelan consulate is just, it's mobbed by journalists. And we're all asking the same question, which is can you please give us journalist visa? And they just have put us through the wringer. They, they threw people out who were wearing shorts. Why?

[Sarah McCammon]

Is there a dress code?

[Eder Peralta]

There is a dress code. Yes, yes, there is. And what's more, like, you know, they, they, they passed out visa forms and if you filled it out in bad handwriting, they would throw it out and, and make you buy a new form. Right.

[Sarah McCammon]

Can I ask you about your own security and safety while you're reporting on a story like this? I mean, how are you thinking about, about that?

[Eder Peralta]

I mean, right now we're fine, right? Because we're on the, on the, on the, you know, in another country. Right. I think it's always risk versus reward. And I know it sounds, it sounds wrong to sort of see it that way. Right. But you're thinking about what story can you get and what risk you're going to have to take to get this story. And right now here in Kukuta, we, we are watching so many different journalists make that calculation. And let me tell you, it's been dramatic.

[Sarah McCammon]

And I would guess in this day and age, if they have Google, it's not hard to figure out who's a journalist or not as hard.

[Eder Peralta]

Right. It wouldn't be difficult at all and also, I think NPR has a policy of declaring, declaring that you're a journalist. A lot of what we do that never gets on air, it's not part necessarily of reporting, is trying to figure out, even if I do make it past that border crossing, what happens afterwards. Can I make a 12 hour ride to Caracas without getting sent back or getting thrown in prison? Right. So far, the decision we've made is we're not going to try and cross in that way.

[Sarah McCammon]

Now, there have been, as I understand it, protests in Colombia. Our colleague Greg Dixon sent some sound through from one of those. Can you tell me about those protests? I mean, what are the protesters asking for?

[Eder Peralta]

You know, where we are? It's, this is a kind of right wing city. And so it was just, you know, maybe 100, 200 people chanting anti American slogans, right? No, no, no, we will not be an American colony is what they were chanting. And so we heard a lot of anger about what the United States had, had just done. And, you know, these, these 200 or so people moved through the streets, they waved Colombian flags, they, they finally made it to a square. And what was interesting, right, is that like, as often happens, like, a couple of people came up to me and they were like, hey, like, don't be covering them. Come here. I'll tell you the truth, right? And, and this one lady was just, she was so angry, right? She's like, you know, we know the real suffering of the Venezuelan people. We've received millions of people. She's like, and we don't even like our own president. And President Trump should have started with him first, right? So it's interesting, I think the protest gave us a little view into the many protests that we've seen on state TV from Venezuela that the government has called for in Venezuela as well to denounce what has happened. And so it gave us a peek of how Latin Americans are feeling about what is a significant historic event on the continent. I mean, I think it's worth pausing on the fact that the United States hasn't done something like this since 1989, when President George H.W. bush sent troops into Panama to extract Manuel Noriega, who was the military ruler at the time.

[Sarah McCammon]

Eyder, you've been an international correspondent for many years now. You've been based in a variety of different places. But, you know, each place is different, each story is different. How much have your past experiences prepared you for this story?

[Eder Peralta]

I think they just make you patient, honestly. And also, I think this is in an odd way, I feel like the world is changing, governments are changing. And what governments across the world have learned is that they don't have to allow journalists into their country. I think in the very recent past, since I've been a journalist, countries would allow you in when big stuff was happening, right? Either because it was chaotic and they couldn't control it or because they just couldn't be bothered to keep you, to keep you out, right. And they were just like, you're being a pest. So come in. And, and I think, you know, I saw this first in Ethiopia where, you know, the Ethiopian civil war, I covered it for two years. That happens, 400, 500,000 people, by some estimates, we were killed in that war. And very few journalists were allowed in to cover it. Right. And, and then from there, you know, we have Gaza where journalists have not, international journalists have not been allowed in to cover Gaza, to cover what's happening in Gaza. And then, you know, this is another example of how much, how much a government is trying to limit journalists from coming in to cover what is happening.

[Sarah McCammon]

NPR's Ader Peralta speaking to us from Cuda, Colombia. Ader, thanks so much for your reporting.

[Eder Peralta]

No, thank you, Sarah.

[Sarah McCammon]

This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez. It was edited by Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's considered this from npr. I'm sarah mccammon.

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