INTERNACIONAL
Trump signals long road ahead in Venezuela in his boldest interventionist move yet
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President Donald Trump is setting the stage for the U.S. to be involved in overseeing Venezuela for a significant period of time, after conducting strikes and capturing dictator Nicolás Maduro and labeling himself «acting» president of Venezuela.
The move marks his boldest interventionist move yet — a foreign policy approach by which one country intervenes in another state’s affairs — and follows other major military operations from the Trump administration, including strikes in Syria in December 2025 against Islamic State operatives after an ambush against U.S. troops there, and strikes in June 2025 against the Iranian nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Trump told The New York Times in an interview that was published Wednesday that «only time will tell» how long the U.S. will be running Venezuela, but said it would be «much longer» than a year.
President Donald Trump takes questions from members of the press aboard Air Force One on Jan. 11, 2026, while traveling from Palm Beach, Florida. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Additionally, Trump announced recently that Venezuela’s interim government would hand over up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. and that the oil would be sold «immediately.»
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«We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,» Trump told the Times. «We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.»
Likewise, Trump shared a doctored image that looked like a Wikipedia page that identified him as «Acting President of Venezuela» since January 2026.
Previous interventionist actions the U.S. has taken include launching an invasion of Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks Afghanistan-based al Qaeda conducted against the U.S., and an invasion of Iraq in 2003 that led to the toppling of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime. In both cases, the U.S. remained in prolonged occupations there.
The language the Trump administration is using now focusing on illegal migration is different than what was used during the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, which focused on democracy-building and promoting freedom, Katherine Thompson, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital.
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«But the pathway to achieve those things, I don’t see, like, a broad differentiation from the things that we did before,» Thompson told Fox News Digital.
Thompson said that she doesn’t see how the Trump administration’s goals could be completed without small rotational deployments from U.S. forces to provide security, particularly in the event that the U.S. reopens its Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.
«I don’t see how we’re going to have a team there without at least some small deployment of rotational forces to achieve security of our own personnel,» Thompson said.
So far, no U.S. troops are on the ground in Venezuela, and the Senate advanced a War Powers resolution Thursday that, if passed, would bar using U.S. forces within or against Venezuela without Congress’ approval.
TRUMP ADMIN SAYS MADURO CAPTURE REINFORCES ALIEN ENEMIES ACT REMOVALS
Nicolás Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan, New York, Jan. 5, 2026. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images)
When asked by Fox News Digital about whether Trump’s «Acting President of Venezuela» post was shared jokingly and what it indicates about how long the U.S. will be involved in running Venezuela, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital: «President Trump will be the greatest President for the American and Venezuelan people in history. Congratulations, world!»
Although Trump has blasted previous administrations for actions in the Middle East and vowed he would bring an end to «endless wars» while ushering in an «America First» agenda prioritizing U.S. interests, Democrats warned that the U.S. may be involving itself in another complicated conflict.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., claimed that the U.S. is on the path to another «endless war.»
«The very thing that Donald Trump campaigned against over and over and over again was no more endless wars,» Schumer said in an interview with ABC News Jan. 4. «And, right now, we’re headed right into one with no barriers, with no discussion.»
SEN JEAN SHAHEEN: MADURO IS GONE, BUT THE SAME POWER STRUCTURES REMAIN IN VENEZUELA
Trump announced on Jan. 3 that U.S. special forces conducted a «large-scale strike» against Caracas, and seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both were taken to New York and appeared in a Manhattan federal court Jan. 5 on drug charges, where they each pleaded not guilty.
The raid came after months of pressure on Venezuela and more than two dozen strikes in Latin American waters against alleged drug traffickers as part of Trump’s effort to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S.
The Trump administration routinely stated that it did not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state and said he was the leader of a drug cartel. Likewise, Trump said in December 2025 he believed it would be «smart» for Maduro to step down.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said congressional approval wasn’t necessary since the operation didn’t amount to an «invasion.» (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press )
The Trump administration has justified seizing Maduro as a «law enforcement» operation, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said congressional approval wasn’t necessary since the operation didn’t amount to an «invasion.»
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However, lawmakers primarily on the left have questioned the legality of the operation in Venezuela, which was conducted without Congress’ approval.
«This has been a profound constitutional failure,» the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement Jan. 3. «Congress — not the President — has the sole power to authorize war. Pursuing regime change without the consent of the American people is a reckless overreach and an abuse of power.»
white house,donald trump,nicolas maduro,venezuelan political crisis,marco rubio
INTERNACIONAL
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Diosdado Cabello se mostró llamativamente de traje en una conferencia del gobierno venezolano. Foto: Reuters.El recibimiento en Tel Aviv
El argentino-israelí Yaacob Harary, en Tel Aviv tras ser liberado del chavismo. Foto: EFE
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California’s fight over taxes and regulation is colliding with a broader economic shift, as wealthy residents and entrepreneurs take their money elsewhere — delivering a windfall of capital, jobs and taxpayers to red-state competitors.
That shift is already visible in migration patterns across the country.
From 2021 to 2024, Texas and Florida posted the largest net population gains, while California and several northeastern states recorded some of the steepest losses, according to IRS and U.S. Census Bureau data.
CALIFORNIA WEALTH TAX PROPOSAL HEMORRHAGES $1T AS BILLIONAIRES FLEE
Those migration trends are now colliding with a political fight over how the Golden State taxes its wealthiest residents.
At the center of the controversy is a proposed ballot initiative backed by the Service Employees International Union that would impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on Californians with assets exceeding $1 billion, including unrealized gains.
If the measure qualifies for the November ballot and is approved by voters, it would apply retroactively to anyone who lived in California as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Supporters say the measure would boost funding for healthcare and education, while critics warn it could drive investment and talent out of the state.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently said he opposes the Billionaire Tax Act. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
Those concerns come as income migration data already shows money moving out of several traditionally blue states.
IRS figures indicate several traditionally blue states losing billions of dollars in adjusted gross income — the income used to calculate federal taxes — as residents move to lower-tax states, particularly across the South and Sun Belt.
CONSERVATIVE STATES SEE LOWER INFLATION THAN LIBERAL ONES NATIONWIDE, WHITE HOUSE DATA SHOWS
Steve Moore, co-founder of Unleash Prosperity, said California’s tax base will continue to erode as more high-profile tech billionaires relocate ahead of the proposed wealth tax.
«California’s tax base took a massive hit at the end of last year. Silicon Valley billionaires left the state, taking their wealth and future wealth with them,» Moore said, attributing those moves to the proposed 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, which targets the state’s ultra-wealthy.
«These business tycoons are running to states like Florida and Texas because of lower taxes, economic freedom and future economic prosperity,» he said, describing it as «voting with their feet.»
«It is common sense for business leaders to pick places for future financial success rather than economic suffocation,» he added.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the wealth tax should be handled at the national level. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has also come out against the proposed wealth tax, warning it could backfire even as he defends the state’s existing progressive tax system.
«For months, I’ve been fighting this, because it’s exactly what I feared would happen — and now it has. This is something I’ve been warning about for years,» Newsom told The New York Times.
Newsom said he has long opposed the measure and believes taxing the ultra-wealthy should be addressed at the national level rather than state by state.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office told Fox News Digital that he will continue welcoming businesses and residents fleeing California to his state. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Even as Newsom raises alarms, Republican governors in Florida and Texas say they are already benefiting from businesses and residents leaving California.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office echoed that sentiment, saying the state continues to draw companies seeking lower taxes and a lighter regulatory environment.
«People and businesses vote with their feet, and they are continually choosing to move to Texas more than any other state,» Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said.
He added that Texas’ lack of corporate and personal income taxes and its predictable regulatory climate have made it an attractive destination for companies weighing a move out of California.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the California proposal «economic insanity.»
california,gavin newsom,taxes
INTERNACIONAL
Republican senator condemns alleged Syrian army abuses as ceasefire follows Aleppo fighting
Trump to meet with Syrian president at White House
The Shadow Warriors Project founder Mark Geist joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss Ahmed al‑Sharaa’s White House visit and how the bilateral ties could impact the ability of the U.S. to fight terror abroad and more.
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The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pressed the Syrian government to hold perpetrators accountable amid accusations of grave human rights violations within Syria’s army during the seizure of two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo. Some reports claim jihadist-aligned members of the army were responsible for the abuses.
Jim Risch, R-Idaho., wrote on Tuesday on X that «I am gravely concerned about the conduct of armed forces in Aleppo, Syria, over the past week and urge the government to hold accountable those who committed these egregious acts. After years of war, the role of Syria’s new government and armed forces is to safeguard the inherent rights of its citizens, not to infringe upon them.»
Risch responded to an X Post from the Syrian Network condemning the desecration of a woman’s body in Aleppo, where it was thrown from a high floor by a member of the Syrian Army.
DEADLY STRIKE ON US TROOPS TESTS TRUMP’S COUNTER-ISIS PLAN — AND HIS TRUST IN SYRIA’S NEW LEADER
Columns of smoke rise from the site of artillery shelling that targeted the area near Aleppo’s Abdelrahman Mosque on Jan. 8, 2026, amid intense clashes between government forces and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces. Syria’s military warned civilians in two besieged Kurdish neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo to leave on Dec. 8, as it prepared to conduct a fresh wave of strikes targeting Kurdish positions. Thousands have already fled the area following clashes between the army and Kurdish-led forces that have killed more than a dozen people. (Omar Haj Kadour / AFP via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of CENTCOM, appealed «to all parties to exercise maximum restraint» in the Aleppo area.
After days of intense clashes, Syrian army forces controlled by the former U.S. designated terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was previously a member of the terrorist movements al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, seized two neighborhoods (Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh) on Sunday in the city of Aleppo, where members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF were based.
The SDF played a critical role in aiding U.S. forces to defeat the Islamic State in Syria.
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Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the SDF, wrote on X that an agreement via international mediation had cemented the evacuation of Syrian Kurds from the two districts in Aleppo.
Abdi wrote that, «With mediation by international parties to halt the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding that leads to a ceasefire and ensures the evacuation of the martyrs, wounded, stranded civilians and fighters from the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood neighborhoods [in northern Aleppo] to North and East Syria [Rojava],» according to the Kurdish news organization Rudaw.
The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, who also serves as the Special Envoy for Syria, wrote on X on Saturday after the Aleppo ceasefire agreement was apparently reached, that he met with President «al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, and members of their team in Damascus to discuss recent developments in Aleppo and the broader path forward for Syria’s historic transition.»
Soldiers of the Syrian army in the entrance of Sheik Maksoud neighborhood during continuing fighting between the Syrian forces and the SDF on Jan. 10, 2026 in Aleppo, Syria. A ceasefire announced yesterday did not take hold as fighting continued between the Syrian army and Kurdish fighters in the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods of Aleppo. Overnight, the army announced that it had completed a security sweep of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood. (Adri Salido/Getty Image)
He added, «The Syrian government has reaffirmed its commitment to the March 2025 integration agreement with the SDF, which provides a framework for incorporating SDF forces into national institutions in a manner that preserves Kurdish rights and strengthens Syria’s unity and sovereignty.»
Wladimir van Wilgenburg, a Kurdish studies expert, told Fox News Digital prior to the Syrian army ousting SDF from Aleppo districts that, «Kurds suspect that Turkey is pushing Damascus to push out Kurdish forces from Aleppo to give a major blow to the SDF, so that they will make more concessions to Damascus and make the Kurdish negotiation position weaker.
«Ankara wants the SDF to integrate into the Syrian army on an individual basis, not as separate divisions,» van Wilgenburg said. He added, «Moreover, the SDF wants a decentralized system, while Damascus wants a centralized system. The Kurds have decided to make a stand in Aleppo. The current situation could spark a widespread conflict that could undermine Trump’s policy of creating sustainable peace in the Middle East.»
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Tom Barrack met with the Syrian president on behalf of the United States on Saturday, Jan 10, 2025 (@USAMBTurkiye via X)
The Aleppo health directorate said at least 24 civilians were killed and more than 120 people were injured during five days of clashes.
The government of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan views the Syrian Kurds as a threat to Turkey because many Kurdish organizations across the region seek an independent state that would include a part of Turkey, where there is a large Kurdish population. Erdogan has over the years launched devastating attacks on the Kurds in northern Syrian.
Retired four-star Army general Jack Keane previously told Fox News’ Mark Levin on «Life, Liberty & Levin» that President Trump during his first term was able to stop Erdogan’s attacks on the Syrian Kurds.
The General Command of the SDF issued a statement last week, stating «We warn that the continuation of this aggression against civilians will lead to serious repercussions that will not be limited to Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh or to the city of Aleppo alone, but will risk plunging all of Syria back into an open battlefield. Full responsibility for this will rest with those who persist in choosing the use of force against civilians.»
Al-Sharaa‘s rule over the past year has seen radical Islamist forces aligned with his army engage in massacres of a range of Syrian minority groups, from Alawites to the Druze. Radical Islamists have also murdered Syrian Christians.
Sinam Mohamad, the representative of the Syrian Democratic Council to the U.S., told Fox News Digital that a «decentralized system will save Syria from any or conflict in the future.» She said «We regret foreign influence» in Syria, noting that «Turkey still has influence on Damascus.» She said that Turkey seeks to «provoke» in Syria, citing the recent attacks in Aleppo.
Rebel forces seized Mengh Airbase and the city of Tel Rifaat in the Aleppo countryside on Dec. 1, 2024, following clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian regime forces. (Photo by Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Photo by Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Mohammad said the Syrian Kurds have a «negotiating committee to discuss the autonomous government in northeastern Syria. We also have women units in the SDF who have been fighting against ISIS.» She asked what is the «future of women in the army» in Syria? «Damascus does not want women units in the army. In Israel, they have women in the army.»
She said this part of the negotiations with al-Sharaa’s government with respect to the March 2025 agreement reached between the SDF and the Syrian regime.
Van Wilgenburg said, «The clashes began after the latest negotiations between the Kurds and Damascus over the implementation of the March 10 agreement did not produce any results. Damascus earlier verbally agreed on three SDF divisions, but there were remaining discussions and different view points over command and control. The last meeting took place on Jan. 4 in Damascus.»
FILE: Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), meets with the Raqa civil council in Syria’s northeastern city of Hasakeh on Nov. 1, 2020. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the SDF, «the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh have been under complete siege by factions of the Damascus government for more than six months. These neighborhoods do not, under any circumstances, constitute a military threat, nor can they serve as a launching point for any attack on the city of Aleppo.»
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The statement added that, «The allegations promoted by bloodthirsty circles within Damascus-affiliated factions, claiming the existence of intent or military movement by our forces from these neighborhoods, are false and fabricated. They are used as a pretext to justify the siege, shelling and massacres committed against civilians.»
Fox News Digital reached out numerous times to the spokesperson for Turkey’s embassy in Washington D.C. as well as the U.S. State Department.
syria,middle east,conflicts,terrorism,foreign policy senate
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