Trump has a list of demands for Venezuela’s new leader
Politico17 hrs
US Congressional Leaders Briefed on Venezuela
Is Trump's intervention in Venezuela an illegal occupation, or a justified strategy to dismantle the country's dictatorship?
Above: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at the U.S. Capitol, on Jan. 5, 2026. Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Though the Trump administration claims that Venezuela is not Iraq 2.0, the actual plan is far from clear and the similarities are striking. Now, like then, the U.S. is promising a limited intervention to temporarily run the country — in the Middle East that meant years of occupation and permanent disaster. As Trump has neither a legal basis nor the public support to implement his goals in Venezuela, he must allow Venezuelans to determine their own future.
Pro-Trump narrative
Regime-controlled institutions would not allow opposition leaders to take office despite broad popular support for them, so Delcy Rodríguez is the only realistic path to stability in Venezuela. The Trump administration is focused on a pragmatic arrangement to force Chavistas to cooperate on drugs, migration and oil with the U.S., kick out U.S. enemies and ensure a transition to democracy without deploying troops.