The NewsWorthy | Special Edition: Venezuela, U.S. Power, & What Comes Next

Date: January 10, 2026
Host: Erica Mandy
Guest: Ambassador Kevin Whitaker, former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council

Episode Overview

This special edition dives deep into the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro—a dramatic move making global headlines. Erica Mandy interviews Ambassador Kevin Whitaker, who brings decades of diplomatic experience, to unpack:

• The significance and precedent of the US action
• What message it sends globally
• The debated legality
• The role of drugs and oil
• Implications for the region, including future U.S. diplomacy and the possibility of violence
• The uncertain future for Venezuela’s people

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Unprecedented U.S. Action: Arresting Maduro

• Extraordinary Event:
  • Whitaker: “It is not at all typical to use the U.S. military to execute arrest warrants. And it's certainly not typical to have chiefs of state be arrested, although both of those things have happened.” (01:18)
  • Historical precedents: 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama (arrest of Noriega), but rare overall.

2. Global Message & Spheres of Influence

• Projection of Power:
  • Whitaker: “The principal message... is that this administration is serious enough to use military force, especially within our hemisphere, to ensure the stated goals of the administration are executed.” (02:00)
  • Refers to the new national security strategy—restating U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
• Global Reactions/Implications:
  • Whitaker: “The world is divided into various spheres of influence... U.S. in the Western Hemisphere, Saudi Arabia in its part, Russia in Europe, China in East Asia.” (02:38)
  • Echoes Russian justification in Ukraine and Chinese stance on Taiwan.

3. Legality Debate: U.S. Law and International Law

• Legal Gray Areas:
  • Whitaker: “There are really two questions. Was this raid a violation of US law? … International law is what the nations say it is... There’s no international enforcement mechanism the United States respects.” (03:54)
  • Raises the issue of the War Powers Act and lack of Congressional approval.

4. Drugs & Narco Narrative

• Maduro’s Indictment vs. Reality:

  • Whitaker: “He was indicted... for engaging in a conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States... But most cocaine comes out of Colombia, not Venezuela.” (05:11)

• Effect on Drug Flow Minimal:

  • Whitaker: “There’s no reason to believe that taking out a kingpin like this is necessarily going to affect the flows of cocaine one way or the other.” (05:50)

• Purpose of Indictment:

  • Whitaker: “The reason... is not the theory that this will collapse the organization, but rather…[they] violated US law, they need to be indicted and tried...” (05:50)

• Contrasts with Honduras:

  • On President Trump pardoning the Honduran leader convicted of drug crimes, Whitaker notes: “Doesn't seem very different. I mean, the only thing that's different is that Hernandez actually had his day in court... Maduro hasn't actually been found guilty by a court yet.” (06:34)

5. Oil, Energy Policy, and U.S. Interests

• Motivations Beyond Justice:
  • Whitaker: “It is about oil… the resources of Venezuela… should be available to the United States as a priority matter and should not be made available to extra-regional actors unless we say so.” (07:10)
  • Notes Venezuela's massive, if technically difficult, oil reserves.
• Challenges in Exploiting Oil:
  • “No big oil company is going to go into Venezuela unless it can be assured that it has access to the resource over the long term... there’s just physical security.” (08:11)
  • Predicts a decade before new investments could significantly impact output. (09:23)

6. Venezuela’s Future and Democratic Transition

• Lack of Visible Change:

  • Whitaker: “Broad scale demonstrations… have not [happened]... Venezuelans have not lost their fear. They are afraid, justifiably so, of a very repressive regime.” (10:11)

• Why Not Back Opposition Figures?

  • References U.S. caution based on the Iraq experience: “…what resulted was chaos and a civil war... It’s possible that people concluded that doing something similar in Venezuela… would lead to similar level of chaos.” (11:23)
  • Legitimacy problem for opposition candidates installed by U.S. force—a risk of “U.S. puppet” narrative.

• Election as Possible Path:

  • “An election which would be permitted under fairer conditions... it’ll be frustrating for Venezuelans, though, because they all turned out and voted... they were all subject to reprisal.” (13:11)

7. U.S. Control, Risks of Backlash, and Regional Response

• Controlling Venezuela’s Foreign Policy:
  • Whitaker: “The administration apparently has made clear that it has views on Venezuelan's foreign partners and that Venezuela needs to end its relationships with Iran, with Hezbollah, with Russia, with China and with Cuba.” (16:19)
• Potential for Retaliation:
  • Concern about insurgency or retaliation—“Latin America has a long history of creating insurgent groups which fight against the existing order.” (17:07)
  • President Trump’s explicit endorsements/interventions in elections could inflame regional tensions.

8. Other U.S. Threats: Focus on Colombia and Greenland

• Colombia:
  • Whitaker: “The stated concern of President Trump is drugs… But drug labs are little artisanal activities... It is not a rational use of US military force.” (18:43)
• Greenland:
  • “If the United States seeks to invade Greenland, the United States will conquer Greenland… if there are people... concerned about this use of military force in the case of Venezuela, they will be even more concerned about a U.S. use of military force... against a NATO ally.” (19:20)
  • Predicts such a move would spell “the end of NATO.” (20:04)

9. Dismantling International Order

• U.S. with a New Worldview:
  • Whitaker: “The entire interlocking structure of institutions... NATO, the U.N., the World Bank, the IMF, all of these institutions... all of them are being undermined... because President Trump has an entirely different view...” (20:09)
• Long-term Impact for Listeners:
  • “...we're looking at a future in which the essential nation, the United States, has decided to absent itself from all of those institutions and focus merely on our own hemisphere.” (20:58)

10. Underreported Challenge: Kinetic Force Is Not Enough

• Limits of Military Action:
  • “You can't kill your way out of these situations... There’s not an X number of people or X kinds of people you can kill to actually resolve the matter.” (21:36)
  • Raises doubts that the administration has thought through complex issues like managing oil revenue for the actual benefit of the Venezuelan people.
  • Stresses the essential need for security: “You can't have a democracy without security. You can't have a normal life without security.” (23:24)
  • Warns of the risk of violence, absence of a coherent response, and the chance of chaos.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[The US is sending a message] that this administration is serious enough to use military force, especially within our hemisphere, to ensure the stated goals of the administration are executed.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (02:00)
• “The world is divided into various spheres of influence... fits very nicely with what President Xi has been saying about Taiwan.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (02:38, 03:05)
• “International law is what the nations say it is... There’s no international enforcement mechanism.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (03:54)
• “There’s no reason to believe that taking out a kingpin like this is necessarily going to affect the flows of cocaine one way or the other. But that’s not the point, right?”
  — Amb. Whitaker (05:50)
• “It is about oil...should be available to the United States as a priority matter...”
  — Amb. Whitaker (07:10)
• “Venezuelans have not lost their fear. They are afraid, justifiably so, of a very repressive regime.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (10:11)
• “It's possible that people concluded that doing something similar in Venezuela, dissolving and collapsing the armed forces and dissolving and collapsing the government, would lead to similar level of chaos.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (11:23)
• “Drug labs are little artisanal activities... It is not a rational use of US military force against such a small bore target.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (18:43)
• “If the United States seeks to invade Greenland, the United States will conquer Greenland. Denmark does not have the capability of confronting the U.S. military... this would effectively be the end of NATO.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (19:20, 20:04)
• “The essential nation, the United States, has decided to absent itself from all of those institutions and focus merely on our own hemisphere.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (20:58)
• “You can't kill your way out of these situations... you can't have a democracy without security.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (21:36, 23:24)
• “We’re in a different world... especially in this hemisphere, in our hemisphere, needs to listen very carefully to what Donald Trump says.”
  — Amb. Whitaker (24:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Extraordinary nature of Maduro’s arrest – 01:09–01:47
• Message to the world/Spheres of influence – 02:00–03:01
• Implications for Russia, China, Ukraine, Taiwan – 03:01–03:47
• Debate over legality under U.S./International law – 03:47–04:50
• Maduro, drugs, and the kingpin narrative – 04:50–06:52
• Oil motivations and energy geopolitics – 06:52–09:46
• Prospects for change inside Venezuela – 09:46–11:23
• U.S. stance toward opposition figures in Venezuela – 11:23–13:43
• U.S. influence on Venezuela’s policies and possible retaliation – 16:19–17:07
• Trump threats, regional elections, and Greenland – 18:28–20:09
• Potential end of NATO and international bodies – 20:04–20:55
• Summary of U.S. global role shift – 20:55–21:28
• Limits of military force and risk of violence – 21:36–24:05
• Final advice and closing thoughts – 24:18–24:59

Summary Conclusion

This special episode provides candid, sobering analysis on the far-reaching implications of the U.S. arrest of Nicolás Maduro. Ambassador Whitaker highlights how the move signals a shift toward direct U.S. power projection, revives debates over spheres of influence, and layers in complex motives—both legal and resource-driven. He challenges optimistic narratives about swift regime change and discusses the enduring risk of violence, the fragility of Venezuela’s democratic prospects, and the potential unraveling of the post-WWII international order. Listeners are left with a warning: the world, and especially the Americas, have entered uncharted territory and must pay close attention to U.S. rhetoric and actions.