U.S. Seizure of Maduro Signals Hard Pivot in the Americas and Tests Brazil’s Clout

Overview

• U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores on January 3 and transferred them to the United States to face narcotics and related charges.
• Chavismo remains in place under interim leader Delcy Rodríguez as Washington moves to shape Venezuela’s oil dealings through a new commercialization arrangement.
• Brazil was neither consulted nor notified about the operation and now confronts curtailed influence, constrained by its non‑intervention doctrine and delayed defense projects.
• Regional responses split, with Brazil, Colombia and Mexico condemning the action while governments such as Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador welcomed it.
• The Trump administration’s ‘Donroe’ framework prioritizes control of strategic assets in the hemisphere, with officials eschewing regional coordination and issuing fresh threats to Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Greenland and Iran.