The U.S. Operation in Venezuela - Maduro's Capture & what next for Venezuela?

Sponsored by: Private Internet Access: https://www.piavpn.com/Perun For anyone hoping 2026 would be less eventful that 2025, U.S. helicopters dropping Special Forces troops into Venezuela to capture and extract Nicholas Maduro probably wasn't what you had in mind. But even with some details still coming out, the rapid success of Operation Absolute Resolve deserves a closer examination as does the now much more complicated open question... With Maduro in custody but the members of his Government still in place, what might be coming next for Venezuela? Today the focus will be on the op itself, with the tanker war, and more global implications to be the focus of a follow up episode. Patreon:   / perunau   Reading and Sourcing (partial): CSIS - Imagery from Venezuela shows a surgical strike, not shock and awe https://www.csis.org/analysis/imagery... General Caine briefing on Operation Absolute Resolve https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/vene... https://breakingdefense.com/2026/01/v... U.S. Seizes Tankers https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-0... Reporting on Venezuelan casualty claims https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/07/us-ve... TWZ on the DAP & Absolute Resolve https://www.twz.com/air/this-is-what-... Sat images of Venezuela post operation: https://www.businessinsider.com/satel... https://militarnyi.com/en/news/afterm... https://www.twz.com/news-features/maj... Arms Transfer data per SIPRI https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsT... U.S. State Department Team arrives in Venezuela https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/09/po... Trump says U.S. will 'run' Venezuela https://www.reuters.com/world/america... Footage of MANPADS launch https://x.com/clashreport/status/2008... Claimed Aftermath footage https://x.com/archer83able/status/200... Featured NYT report https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/us... Rodriguez says 'no foreign agent' running the country https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1... Rodriguez sworn in https://www.reuters.com/world/america... Bellingcat AGM-88 analysis https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/... U.S. buildup (December 2025) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-2... U.S. Mil on Ford's location https://www.war.gov/Multimedia/Photos.... Potential OWA UAS footage https://x.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/2... Maduro tomb claim and debunk https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cly1x12... Trump meets oil execs https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2... Caveats & Comments: All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions. Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character. Care has been taken in compiling data, quotes, and other inputs from various sources but errors can occur. Quotes and included data should be considered illustrative, not definitive and their veracity should not be relied on. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Opening Words 00:01:09 — What Am I Talking About? 00:03:12 — U.S. Buildup 00:06:14 — Venezuelan Readiness? 00:15:12 — the Operation 00:32:47 — Analysis 00:43:57 — Aftermath 00:51:48 — Pressure Tactics & Venezuela 00:58:34 — the Way Forward 01:01:18 — Channel Update