Today, Explained – "What’s Next for Venezuela"

Date: January 5, 2026
Podcast: Today, Explained (Vox)
Host: Noel King
Guests: Ana Vanessa Herrero (Freelance Reporter, Caracas), Greg Grandin (Historian, Yale University)

Episode Overview

This episode examines the immediate aftermath of U.S.-led capture and extradition of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and explores the questions swirling around Venezuela’s political future, U.S. interventionism, and the mood on the streets in Caracas. The hosts speak to Ana Vanessa Herrero for on-the-ground reactions inside Venezuela and to Yale historian Greg Grandin to place these events within the long context of U.S. actions in Latin America.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

I. The Fallout From Maduro’s Capture

Timestamps: 00:02–01:25

• Maduro’s extradition to New York and the international turmoil it caused:

  • UN Security Council met to discuss legality of U.S. actions (at Colombia’s request)
  • President Trump threatened the Colombian president and made aggressive statements targeting Cuba, Greenland, Mexico, and Iran.

• “Cuba is ready to fall.” – President Trump [00:32]

II. Caracas Reacts: Daily Life After Bombing and Capture

Guest: Ana Vanessa Herrero
Timestamps: 01:25–12:22

Life in Caracas Now (01:39–05:08):

• Ana Vanessa: “Everything’s going on. I mean, since Saturday, people have been, you know, wondering what is going to happen next. In just 48 hours, Venezuelans experience not only the first bombing and the first glimpse of war that they have experienced for hundreds of years now, but also they had to face the fact that Nicolas Maduro is no longer here.” [01:39]

• No immediate military or police presence, but lines at supermarkets, pharmacies for essentials.

• The city is eerily calm after “such storm”—a calm that feels unnatural and fraught.

• People’s mental toll: Anxiety, sleeplessness, stress is rampant.

  • An elderly woman: “She felt such stress that she just wanted to, like, go to sleep and figure it out later.” [Approx. 04:00]

On Safety and Routine:

• “No military on the streets, no cops on the streets, no danger whatsoever. People just... trying to get back to normal.” – Ana Vanessa Herrero [02:49]

III. Political Transition and Uncertainty

Delsey Rodríguez’s Role
Timestamps: 05:08–08:44

• Delsey Rodríguez, long-time leftist and Maduro ally, expected to become interim president.
• Known critic of U.S. intervention and Trump, now signals unexpected openness to working with U.S.
  • On Saturday, declared Maduro Venezuela’s only president, denounced the capture as kidnapping, and demanded his return.
  • Within 24 hours, “she called the U.S., invited the U.S. to work together in a joint agenda.” – Ana Vanessa Herrero [06:49]

Conspiracy and Speculation:

• Possible theories among Venezuelans that Rodríguez may have been complicit in Maduro’s downfall, but no evidence.
• Her tone shift is viewed as suspicious and “enough to raise some eyebrows.” – Ana Vanessa Herrero [07:26]

IV. Trump’s Plans and Venezuelan Sentiment

Timestamps: 08:44–10:46

• President Trump’s candid announcement:

  • “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure... and start making money for the country in Venezuela.” [08:53]

• Venezuelan public response: Focused on survival, but polarized feelings about U.S. control.

  • Some adamantly reject external control: “Venezuela is for Venezuelans.”
  • Others welcome U.S. intervention if it means Maduro is gone.

• Deep uncertainty about what "U.S. running the country" actually means: governance, advisorship, or direct political involvement?

  • “No one knows what running the country means.” – Ana Vanessa Herrero [09:18]

V. What Do Venezuelans Want Next?

Timestamps: 10:46–12:15

• Widespread hope for genuine elections.
  • The Constitution specifies interim president must call elections in 30 days in case of a total void of power.
• However, doubt abounds about practical outcomes, given unprecedented situation.
• General atmosphere: People remain in shock, focusing on stocking up essentials rather than engaging fully in political debates.

Quote:
“Venezuelans right now are trying to get out of the state of shock and they're trying to get as much food and water as they can because they're accustomed to problems, turmoil and tragedy.” – Ana Vanessa Herrero [12:07]

VI. U.S. Interventions in Historical Context

Guest: Greg Grandin, Yale Historian
Timestamps: 16:00–25:48

The American Playbook in Latin America

• U.S. has intervened in nearly every country in Central and South America since the late 19th century.

  • “There is no country in which the United States hasn't intervened in South America.” – Greg Grandin [16:21]

• The most immediate historical parallel:

  • The 1989 Invasion of Panama (Noriega’s capture):
    • “It was a showcase of Colin Powell's exit strategy doctrine... and it was also the first that eventually became understood as an intervention to install democracy...” [18:30]
    • It served as a turning point where the U.S. increasingly acted unilaterally, outside international consensus.

Oil as Justification—and Trump’s Unfiltered Approach

• Unlike previous U.S. interventions, Trump is notably explicit about economic motives.

  • “This weekend, President Trump came out and he said, we want the oil. That's why we did this.” – Noel King [19:44]

• Grandin’s analysis:

  • Oil is important, but “Trump’s talking about oil was... a way of providing fig leaf for his America First base.” [20:01]
  • The language appeals to nationalist, “aggrieved” sectors and revives the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine: U.S. as hemispheric police.

Sovereignty vs. Intervention

Debating the Justification

• When challenged about whether removing Maduro was the "right thing," Grandin says:

  • “You do not have to carry water for Nicolas Maduro... to hold on to the ideal of national sovereignty. There is a system of international law which recognizes the sovereignty of nations. The absolute sovereignty of nations shouldn't be left to the judgment of one nation.” [22:08]

• Grandin warns that Trump's bluntness exposes the core logic of power and plunder at the heart of prior, more veiled interventions.

“Cuba Next?”: Fear and Regional Implications

Timestamps: 23:29–25:48

• Latin America is suddenly on edge over where the U.S. might intervene next:

  • “If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned at least a little bit.” – Greg Grandin [23:43]
  • Quote from Senator Marco Rubio: “Cuba is a disaster. It's run by incompetent, senile men... It has no economy.” [23:46]

• Grandin’s forecast:

  • The Trump administration wants to bring all of Latin America “to heel,” including not just Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua but even more moderate or left-leaning governments in Brazil and Mexico.
  • It’s about “demonstrations of power and will,” not solely geopolitical or economic interests.

Warning:
“Latin America really is on a knife's edge.” – Greg Grandin [25:47]

Notable Quotes

• Ana Vanessa Herrero:

  • “Such calm after such storm is not something that you would expect.” [04:35]
  • “People are trying to get back to normal... But what is normal exactly?” [03:08]

• President Trump:

  • “We're going to have our very large United States oil companies... fix the badly broken infrastructure... and start making money for the country in Venezuela.” [08:53]

• Greg Grandin:

  • “There is no country in which the United States hasn't intervened in South America.” [16:21]
  • “Trump pulls out some of the implicit or repressed premises... and just says them out loud.” [22:50]
  • “Latin America really is on a knife’s edge.” [25:47]

Important Segment Timestamps

• 01:39 – Ana Vanessa Herrero describes Caracas’s atmosphere after Maduro captured
• 05:34–08:44 – Discussion of Delsey Rodríguez, her history, and possible motives
• 08:53 – Trump’s explicit oil ambition for Venezuela
• 10:46–12:15 – The Venezuelan desire for fair elections
• 16:20–19:29 – Grandin details U.S. history of regime change and Panama parallel
• 19:44–21:39 – Unusually overt US rhetoric around oil as a motive
• 22:08–23:29 – Sovereignty, international law, and justification debates
• 24:02–25:48 – Regional implications and “Cuba next” anxiety

Conclusion

This episode paints a picture of a Venezuelan populace suspended between shock and hope, uncertain of whether recent American intervention will bring opportunity or new instability. The U.S. approach under President Trump harkens back to a long and checkered history of intervention in Latin America, but with uniquely forthright rhetoric about resources and dominance. As the region braces for further fallout, the world is left to wonder how history will judge these unprecedented days—and whether the people of Venezuela will finally have the agency to determine their own future.