Overview
- U.S. forces carried out Operation Absolute Resolve in Caracas on January 3, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
- President Trump promoted a revamped posture he called the 'Donroe Doctrine' and later told Fox News the label was coined by others.
- The administration asserted authority over Venezuelan crude and announced an initial sale of roughly 50 million barrels on global markets.
- U.S. maritime actions expanded on January 7 with Coast Guard seizures of two Russian 'ghost fleet' tankers, identified as Bella 1 and Sophia.
- China publicly criticized the Venezuela operation as a brazen use of force against a sovereign state, signaling widening international pushback.