A clearer picture is emerging of what Trump meant when he said the US will ‘run’ Venezuela
CNN2 days
Delcy Rodríguez Takes Over as Interim President of Venezuela
Should the U.S. pragmatically work with Maduro allies, honor the opposition's claimed election victory, or refrain from intervening in Venezuela?
Above: Delcy Rodriguez after being sworn in as interim president of Venezuela in Caracas on Jan. 5, 2026. Image credit: Jesus Vargas/Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
María Corina Machado-backed presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia is the legitimate leader of Venezuela after winning nearly 70% of the vote in the July 2024 election. Ignoring that mandate and empowering Maduro's vice president betrays the will of the people of Venezuela expressed at the ballot box. Democracy cannot be built by those who orchestrated the institutional breakdown, and any transition administered by the Maduro regime only prolongs authoritarianism.
Pro-Trump narrative
González is indeed the legitimate winner of the 2024 presidential election, but regime-controlled institutions will not allow him or the main opposition leader, Machado, to take office despite broad popular support for them. Working with Delcy Rodríguez offers the only realistic path to stability in Venezuela. The Trump administration is focused on a pragmatic arrangement that secures cooperation on drugs, migration and oil, sidelines U.S. enemies and avoids the risks of mass migration and civil war.
Establishment-critical narrative
No nation has the right to capture another country's head of state, administer its government or claim an entire hemisphere as its possession. Maduro was a brutal dictator who terrorized Venezuela for decades, and Venezuelans are right to celebrate his downfall. But the latest U.S. actions have violated international law, the U.N. Charter and the very basic notion of national sovereignty. Venezuelans deserve to determine their own future without foreign bombs, sanctions or occupation disguised as temporary stewardship that always ends in devastation, not democracy.
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Establishment split
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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0