INTERNACIONAL
Top 5 game-changers from the 2025 campaign trail
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In the wake of last year’s tumultuous presidential election, which exhausted many Americans, it was expected to be quiet on the 2025 campaign trail.
But with President Donald Trump back in the White House and Democrats itching to rebound after last year’s ballot box setbacks, 2025’s off-year elections were anything but sedate.
Here are five of the biggest moments that shaped the campaign trail.
5. Democrats overperform in special elections
Just eight days into Trump’s second term in the White House, demoralized Democrats had something to cheer about.
SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS
President Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second term in the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. (Morray Gash/AFP via Getty Images)
Democrat Mike Zimmer defeated Republican Katie Whittington in a special state Senate election in Iowa, flipping a Republican-controlled vacant seat in a district that Trump had carried by 21 points less than three months earlier.
Zimmer’s victory triggered a wave of Democrats overperforming in special elections and regularly scheduled off-year ballot box contests.
In Iowa, Democrats in August flipped another Republican-held seat in a state Senate special election, breaking the GOP’s supermajority in the upper chamber for the first time in three years.
«Since the president was inaugurated back in January, there’s been 45 elections on the ballot. Democrats have overperformed in all of them to the tune of about 16 percentage points on average,» Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin touted in a Fox News Digital interview days ahead of the 2025 elections.
4. Inflation persists, making affordability issue No. 1 on the campaign trail
It was the issue that boosted Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections, as they won back the White House and Senate majority and kept control of the House.
But a year later, the economy, and everyday expenses in particular, are working against the president and his party in the 2025 elections.
FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SAY WHITE HOUSE IS DOING MORE HARM THAN GOOD ON ECONOMY
Democrats, with an across-the-board focus on affordability, enjoyed sweeping success at the ballot box earlier this month, with double-digit victories in the gubernatorial showdowns in blue-leaning but competitive New Jersey and Virginia, as well as major victories in high-profile contests in battlegrounds Georgia and Pennsylvania and solidly blue New York City and California.
Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill votes on Election Day, in Montclair, New Jersey, on Nov. 4, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
«Voters are remarkably consistent in their priorities: the economy, the economy, the economy,» noted Wayne Lesperance, a veteran political scientist and president of New England College.
«When you win an election, voters expect you are going to do something to address those concerns and the reality is that the questions of affordability remain unchanged in their importance to the everyday voter.»
3. Jay Jones text messages revealed, rocking the Virginia elections
Virginia Democrats were cruising toward convincing victories in the commonwealth’s statewide elections when a scandal sent shockwaves up and down the ballot.
Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones instantly went into crisis mode after controversial texts were first reported earlier by the National Review in early October.
Jay Jones addresses supporters after winning the Democratic nomination for Virginia attorney general as wife Mavis Jones looks on in Norfolk, on June 17, 2025. (Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Jones acknowledged and apologized for texts he sent in 2022, when he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, adding that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head.
But Jones faced a chorus of calls from Republicans to drop out of the race.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS
And the GOP leveraged the explosive revelations up the ballot, forcing Democratic Party nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, back on defense in a campaign where she was seen as the frontrunner against Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
Earle-Sears didn’t waste an opportunity to link Spanberger to Jones. And during last month’s chaotic and only gubernatorial debate, where Earle-Sears repeatedly interrupted Spanberger, the GOP gubernatorial nominee called on her Democratic rival to tell Jones to end his attorney general bid.
«The comments that Jay Jones made are absolutely abhorrent,» Spanberger said at the debate. But she neither affirmed nor pulled back her support of Jones.
While the scandal grabbed national headlines, in the end it didn’t slow down the Democrats, as Spanberger crushed Earle-Sears by 15 points. Democrats won the separate election for lieutenant governor by 11 points and Jones even pulled off a 6-point victory over Republican incumbent Jason Miyares.
2. Trump urges Texas to redistrict
Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections, Trump in June first floated the idea of rare but not unheard of mid-decade congressional redistricting.
The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.
Trump’s first target: Texas.
A month later, when asked by reporters about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, «Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.»
The push by Trump and his political team triggered a high-stakes redistricting showdown with Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.
ELECTION REFLECTION: ‘DEMOCRATS FLIPPED THE SCRIPT’ ON AFFORDABILITY IN BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWNS
But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.
Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office on Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)
California voters earlier this month overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.
That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.
Meanwhile, an opinion by two federal judges in Texas this month delivered a blow to Trump and Republicans, by ruling that the state can’t use the newly drawn map in next year’s elections. Texas Republicans say they’ll appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
But the fight has spread beyond Texas and California.
Right-tilting Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. And red-leaning Indiana, Florida and Kansas are also mulling redrawing their maps.
«We must keep the Majority at all costs,» Trump wrote on social media this month.
Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are also taking steps or seriously considering redistricting.
And in a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge this month rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
1. Mamdani wins NYC mayoral primary
Zohran Mamdani’s convincing June 24 victory in New York City’s Democratic Party mayoral primary was the political earthquake that rocked the nation’s most populous city and sent powerful shockwaves across the country.
The capturing of the Democratic nomination by the now-34-year-old socialist state lawmaker over frontrunner former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates propelled Mamdani to this month’s general election victory.
Zohran Mamdani speaks to supporters during a primary election night gathering on June 24, 2025, in the Queens borough of New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
While Mamdani’s 9-point general election victory is a shot in the arm for the rise of the socialist movement as it battles moderate Democrats for the future of the party, it also appears to be the political gift that keeps on giving for Republicans, as they aim to paint all Democrats as far-left radicals.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was one of the first out of the gate to capitalize on the leftward lurch, firing off an email release minutes after Mamdani’s primary victory, arguing that «every vulnerable House Democrat will own him, and every Democrat running in a primary will fear him.»
And this month, immediately after Mamdani became mayor-elect, the NRCC claimed «the new face of the Democrat Party just dropped, and it’s straight out of a socialist nightmare.»
President Donald Trump met with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, in the Oval Office at the White House, on Nov. 21, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
But Trump’s very chummy meeting with Mamdani recently at the White House seemed to undercut the GOP strategy to use the mayor-elect as a human cudgel.
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Democrats insist that the effort to link Mamdani is a distraction from Republicans’ inability to deal with the affordability issue.
«Republican operatives in D.C. know they can’t win on the issues, so we’re seeing them melt down in real time, resorting to ineffective boogeyman attacks. It’s embarrassing,» the rival Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee charged.
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INTERNACIONAL
Donald Trump, tras la captura de Nicolás Maduro: «Vamos a dirigir Venezuela hasta que podamos lograr una transición segura»
Luego de la operación militar en Venezuela donde fue capturado Nicolás Maduro, el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, habló en conferencia de prensa y aseguró que sus tropas están “preparadas para un segundo ataque” en suelo venezolano. Además, confirmó que gobernará el país sudamericano hasta que haya “una transición ordenada”.
“Vamos a dirigirlo adecuadamente, vamos a asegurarnos que el pueblo de Venezuela esté cuidado”, manifestó el jefe de Estado estadounidense, y señaló que habrá miembros del ejército de EE.UU. en el territorio. “Estamos listos para volver, si es necesario”, afirmó.
Leé también: Con su ataque a Venezuela, Trump renueva la “doctrina Monroe” y reflota el fantasma de un acuerdo con Rusia
“No podemos permitir que se salgan con la suya”, aseguró Trump. Y afirmó que se está armando el esquema para gobernar la nación caribeña “en este momento”. “Venezuela tiene muchas personas malas, que no deben estar liderando”, subrayó. Trump difundió la primera foto de Maduro tras su captura, a bordo del buque militar USS Iwo Jima. (Foto: Truth Social/@realdonaldtrump).
Respecto del tiempo que estará gobernando Venezuela, Trump explicó: “Ojalá sea rápido, pero será muy complejo. Hay que reconstruir toda la infraestructura”. “Queremos una región más segura, sin enemigos. Tenemos que tener países estables”, agregó.
Leé también: La primera foto de Nicolás Maduro tras la captura: ojos tapados y manos atadas
En cuanto al ataque en la madrugada de este sábado, el presidente de Estados Unidos indicó: “Se utilizaron las fuerzas aéreas y terrestres. Un ataque que nunca se había visto desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial”. Y señaló: “Fue una gran fuerza contra una fortaleza en el corazón de Caracas para poder presentar ante la Justicia al dictador Maduro. Fue una muestra increíble de la fuerza de Estados Unidos”.
“Maduro estaba tratando de llegar a un lugar seguro, pero nosotros actuamos muy rápido. Igual hubiésemos llegado, no tenía lugar donde esconderse”, graficó Trump. “Tenemos un historial perfecto contra los dictadores. Nosotros ganamos”, añadió. En la imagen, humo en el aeropuerto de La Carlota tras varias explosiones y aviones volando a baja altura en Caracas, Venezuela, el 3 de enero de 2026. (Foto: AP/Matías Delacroix)
En la misma línea, Trump indicó: “Todas las bases del ejército de Venezuela quedaron sin poder gracias a la actuación exitosa del Ejército de Estados Unidos que capturaron a Maduro a la noche”. Y ratificó: “Hemos capturado a Maduro junto con su esposa Cilia Flores, ambos tendrán que enfrentarse a la Justicia. Los dos fueron imputados en el distrito sur de Nueva York”.
“Quiero agradecer a los hombres y mujeres que han logrado un éxito destacable con precisión. Hemos visto redadas en este país que no salieron bien, han habido situaciones que nos han dado vergüenza, como Afganistán. Era otra época, estamos operando en colaboración con las fuerzas del orden de Estados Unidos. Teníamos muchos buques alistados en el mar. Ellos sabían que estábamos yendo. Los hemos superado increíblemente. Derrotamos sus capacidades. Si lo vieron, estarán impresionados. Fue increíble de ver. No hubo un solo personal del Ejército de Estados Unidos fallecido, ningún miembro perdió la vida”, manifestó Trump.
“Somos el ejército más fuerte del mundo, con capacidades que no se pueden ni imaginar, tenemos el mejor equipamiento militar del mundo. Si analizamos los buques, 97% de las drogas que ingresan por mar, las detenemos”, dijo.
En otro tramo de su discurso, advirtió al presidente de Colombia, Gustavo Petro: “Ellos tienen fábricas donde hacen cocaína y la mandan para acá. Así que tiene que cuidarse”.
También se refirió a Cuba: “Creo que es un caso muy similar. Nosotros queremos ayudar al pueblo cubano”. Y envió un mensaje al presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, sobre la guerra en Ucrania: “No estoy encantado con él, está matando a muchas personas. Es una guerra que nunca debió haber sucedido. Es una guerra que yo heredé. Yo quiero detener eso”.
Donald Trump, Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro
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Maduro-backed TdA gang’s expansion into US cities emerges as key focus of sweeping DOJ indictment
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The U.S. military carried out a «large-scale strike» on Venezuela Saturday morning, capturing the nation’s dictatorial leader, Nicolás Maduro, who will face sweeping criminal charges on U.S. soil, according to an unsealed indictment released by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Maduro, who was elected in 2013 and served as Hugo Chavez’s vice president, is facing charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the U.S.
«It’s just it was an amazing thing, the amazing job that these people did. There’s nobody else could have done anything like it,» Trump said of the operation.
REPUBLICANS LINE UP BEHIND TRUMP AFTER US STRIKES VENEZUELA, MADURO ARRESTED: ‘CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY’
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro addresses supporters during a rally marking the anniversary of the 19th-century Battle of Santa Ines in Caracas, Venezuela, on Dec. 10, 2025. (Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images))
The unsealed indictment focuses on how Maduro allegedly enriched himself and «political elites» by reportedly partnering with vicious gangs and drug cartels that have established syndicates across the Western Hemisphere, including in the U.S., such as New York. The indictment lists six individuals as defendants, including Maduro, his wife, his son and Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, the leader of a vicious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.
The indictment alleges that Maduro «sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.»
President Donald Trump has railed against drug cartels for spreading deadly narcotics such as fentanyl in U.S. communities, leading to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths since 2000. Trump has directed his ire at gangs such as Tren de Aragua, which Trump designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization last year.
The indictment accuses Maduro and his co-conspirators — including Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and former Interior Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín — of partnering with narco-terrorists, including the Tren de Aragua gang and its leader, to distribute cocaine since at least 1999.
FROM BUS DRIVER TO DICTATOR: NICOLÁS MADURO’S RISE AND FALL IN VENEZUELA
«In sum, MADURO MOROS and his co-conspirators have, for decades, partnered with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world, and relied on corrupt officials throughout the region, to distribute tons of cocaine to the United States,» the indictment states.
In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, guards escort inmates allegedly linked to criminal organizations at CECOT prison on March 16, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. The Trump administration deported 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal organizations ‘Tren De Aragua’ and MS-13. (Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)
The indictment alleges that Maduro «participates in, perpetuates, and protects a culture of corruption in which powerful Venezuelan elites enrich themselves through drug trafficking and the protection of their partner drug traffickers.» The indictment describes that defendants worked in coordination with cartels and gangs such as Mexico’s the Zetas, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Colombian group ELN, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army, and Tren de Aragua.
«TdA has expanded its criminal network throughout the Western Hemisphere and established a presence in the United States, including New York,» the indictment said. «TdA’s criminal activities include human smuggling and other illicit acts. TdA has developed additional revenue sources through a range of other criminal activities, including drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, commercial sex trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, theft, fraud, and extortion. TdA members also commit murder, assault, and other acts of violence to enforce and further the organization’s criminal activities.»
MADURO SAYS VENEZUELA IS ‘READY’ TO MAKE DEAL WITH US ON DRUGS AND OIL AFTER MILITARY STRIKES
Trump has repeatedly accused Maduro of working with cartels, while underscoring how the foreign gangs have infiltrated the U.S. and spread violence and addiction.
President Donald Trump speaks to a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
«TdA operates in conjunction with Cártel de los Soles, the Nicolás Maduro regime-sponsored, narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela, and commits brutal crimes, including murders, kidnappings, extortions, and human, drug, and weapons trafficking,» Trump wrote in a March 2025 presidential proclamation.
He doubled down in his press conference on Saturday, warning that «all political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them.»
Venezuela has argued that Tren de Aragua is no longer an active cartel and was effectively wiped out in 2023, Reuters previously reported.
Maduro and 14 other current and former Venezuelan officials were previously charged by U.S. federal prosecutors in 2020 on narco-terrorism, corruption and drug trafficking allegations. The January 2025 indictment expands on the 2020 document, including adding Maduro’s son and wife as defendants.
The Venezuelan government said in a statement following the Saturday strike that «the civilian and military localities of the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira» were impacted by the attack.
The nation accused the U.S. of committing a «very serious military aggression» against Venezuela and carrying out «imperialist aggression.»
«The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, attempting to break the Nation’s political independence by force,» the Government of Venezuela said in a statement. «They will not succeed. After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate Government remain steadfast in defense of sovereignty and the inalienable right to decide their own destiny.»
Pictured are allegedly 17 members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang and members of the MS-13 gang, who were deported to El Salvador. (El Salvador Press Presidency Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Trump said on Fox News that Maduro and his wife were flown by helicopter to a U.S. military ship. The couple will be transported to New York City, where the dictator is expected to stand trial.
«Yes, the Iwo Jima,» Trump said on Saturday morning on Fox News. «They’ll be heading into New York. The helicopters took them out, and they went by helicopter on a nice flight. I’m sure they loved it, but they’ve killed a lot of people.»
The president said he watched the operation from Mar-a-Lago, where he spent the Christmas holiday, and praised the military for its efforts.
Democrats have taken issue with a lack of notice to Congress over the strike, while MAGA Republicans have rallied around Trump’s decision.
Trump held a press conference from Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, where he said the U.S. will «run» Venezuela until there is a safe transition of power.
«We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. So we don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in. And we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years. So we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. And it has to be judicious because that’s what we’re all about. We want peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela,» he said.
HERE’S WHERE TRUMP LAUNCHED AIRSTRIKES AROUND THE WORLD IN 2025: ‘PROTECT THE HOMELAND’
The capture and strike follows the U.S. military carrying out dozens of strikes on suspected narco-boats since September. Trump campaigned in-part on ending the flow of deadly narcotics such as fentanyl from other nations – which has lead to surges in overdose deaths across the last two decades – including leveling tariffs on China to curb the flow of such drugs and strengthening the U.S. borders.
Democrat lawmakers are increasingly turning up the heat on the Trump administration over its series of military strikes on suspected foreign drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
Democrats have slammed the Trump administration over its strikes on the suspected narco-boats, with Trump defending that the U.S. is engaged in an «armed conflict» with drug cartels after the groups evolved into transnational terror organizations. Officials previously argued the strikes were necessary to curb the flow of opioid deaths in the U.S., while experts said the pressure campaign on Venezuela is likely aimed to also oust Maduro as leader of the oil-rich nation.
«We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by sea … each boat kills 25, on average, 25,000 people. We knocked out 97%. And those drugs mostly come from a place called Venezuela,» Trump said on Saturday of the boat strikes.
US MILITARY DESTROYS NARCO-TERROR CONVOY OF THREE VESSELS AT SEA IN KINETIC STRIKES
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro. (Maxim Shemetov/AFP/Getty Images))
Foreign adversaries condemned the U.S. over the strike, including the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which reported Saturday that the country is «deeply shocked and strongly condemns the use of force by the U.S. against a sovereign country and the use of force against the president of a country.»
Russia, which is a crucial ally to Venezuela, also condemned the strike and capture in public statements.
«This morning, the United States committed an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This is deeply concerning and condemnable,» the Russia Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. «The pretexts used to justify such actions are unfounded. Ideological animosity has prevailed over business pragmatism and the willingness to build relationships based on trust and predictability.»
Bondi warned on X that Maduro and his wife «will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.»
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«On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers,» Bondi wrote.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
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Maduro’s presumed successor, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, is possibly in Russia: report
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The presumed successor to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is currently in Russia, a report said Saturday.
Four sources familiar with the movements of Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez confirmed her location to Reuters, although the news agency cited Russia’s foreign ministry as claiming the report was «fake.»
Earlier in the day, Rodriguez demanded in audio played on Venezuelan state TV that the U.S. provide «proof of life» for Maduro and his wife after President Donald Trump said the pair were captured in a U.S. military operation.
«We demand that President Donald Trump’s government provide immediate proof of life for President Maduro and the First Lady,» Rodriguez said, according to Reuters.
LIVE UPDATES: VENEZUELA’S MADURO IS CAPTURED BY THE US
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is seen flanked by his wife Cilia Flores, right, and Delcy Rodriguez, left, in Caracas, Venezuela May 24, 2018. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
Trump later shared to Truth Social a photo of Maduro seen detained, blindfolded and clutching a water bottle while wearing gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima. Trump said he would later be brought to New York.
Maduro previously served as Venezuela’s vice president before he took power in 2013 following the death of then-leader Hugo Chávez.
Jorge Rodriguez, who is Delcy’s brother and is the head of Venezuela’s national assembly, remains in Caracas, three sources told Reuters.
When asked about what the future of Venezuela holds with Maduro no longer in the country, Trump said in an interview on «Fox & Friends Weekend» that, «we’re making that decision now.»
REPUBLICANS LINE UP BEHIND TRUMP AFTER US STRIKES VENEZUELA, MADURO ARRESTED: ‘CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY’
President Donald Trump shared a photo of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after strikes on Venezuela, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Truth Social/ @realDonaldTrump)
«We can’t take a chance of letting somebody else run and just take over where he left off. So we’re making that decision now,» Trump told Fox News. «We’ll be involved in it very much, and we want to do liberty for the people. We want to, you know, have a great relationship. I think the people of Venezuela are very, very happy because they love the United States. You know, they were run by essentially a dictatorship or worse.»
Trump later confirmed at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., that the U.S. would run Venezuela on a temporary basis.
The successors to Maduro are likely to be the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, an expert said Saturday.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 10, 2025. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
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Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan who is the president of the Economic Inclusion Group, told Fox News Digital that «Machado and Gonzalez would assume a transitional government in Venezuela.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, Benjamin Weinthal and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
venezuelan political crisis,russia,military,donald trump,foreign policy,world
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