Overview
- China’s special envoy met Nicolás Maduro hours before his capture and Russia had begun pulling diplomats from Caracas, leaving Beijing politically exposed and facing risks to oil-for-loans ties and crude supplies, according to The Times.
- Fresh reporting describes a preplanned U.S. buildup that moved the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford offshore, reopened the Roosevelt Roads base in Puerto Rico, and installed a radar unit in Tobago ahead of the operation.
- The mission included airstrikes on selected military sites and proceeded without consultation with Congress, drawing scrutiny over legality and process, as noted by The American Conservative.
- The Times cites unnamed sources who say U.S. forces employed novel capabilities and that Venezuelan S-300 and Buk-M2 air defenses were not linked to radar, rendering them effectively idle during the strikes.
- Analysts describe a contested transition with Delcy Rodríguez serving as an interim figure while military and paramilitary power centers persist, and they warn that Venezuela’s heavy-crude sector will need decades and tens of billions to recover, with major firms calling the country uninvestable.