Maduro out. Trump in?

The U.S. bombed Venezuela and kidnapped President Maduro and his wife. Who's in charge now?

What happened:
On Saturday (January 3), the U.S. launched strikes in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities and said it captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during the operation. Maduro and Flores were reportedly flown to the U.S., where officials say they will face charges tied to "narco-terrorism" and drug trafficking. The scale of damage and the civilian death toll remain unclear in early reporting.

International reaction was fast and harsh. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva wrote on X that the actions "cross an unacceptable line", adding that "attacking countries in flagrant violation of international law is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability", and Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum also condemned the intervention.

A joint statement from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, and Uruguay also denounced the strikes. One of the outliers is Argentina as President Javier Milei -- who Trump has described as his "favourite president" -- wrote "freedom moves forward" and "long live freedom" on social media.

Experts The Guardian spoke to all agreed that the US is likely to have violated the terms of the UN charter, which was signed in October 1945 and designed to prevent another conflict on the scale of the Second World War. A central provision of this agreement -- known as article 2(4) -- rules that states must refrain from using military force against other countries and must respect their sovereignty.

Inside Venezuela, the political picture is messy. Maduro's government insists he remains president, while the U.S. is framing this as the start of a "transition." Trump said the U.S. would "run" the country "for now," though Secretary of State Marco Rubio later tried to walk that back, saying the U.S. does not plan to govern Venezuela directly, and instead emphasized pressure through oil measures. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has positioned herself as the acting authority.

This is the moment where hot takes are cheap. So I asked Gabriela Mesones Rojo (Instagram), a Venezuelan journalist in Caracas who's specialized in human rights and state persecution (the OG readers remember Gaby; she used to write for this newsletter), to walk me through what people are actually feeling on the ground right now: relief for some, fear for many, and deep uncertainty about what comes next, including the risk of violence, fragmentation, and a foreign-controlled oil agenda.

Here's the interview, edited lightly for clarity and flow. I've posted the interview at the link below: https://gishty.com/interviews/inteview-with-gabriela-mesones-rojo

what else happened

Iran:
At least 17 people have died in protests in Iran, say human rights organizations. The unrest reportedly began as protests by shopkeepers in Tehran against strict economic and price policies, then spread into a broader anti-government movement. Alongside anti-regime anger, there are also calls for the return of the monarchy (overthrown in 1979). (Spiegel)

**Turkey / ...