Talmadge: What did the US achieve in the Venezuela operation?

Scott R. Anderson and Caitlin Talmadge| Brookings Institution

January 8, 2026

OPSHOT - A protester wears a modified 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) hat with 'Venezuela' taped over the original text during a demonstration in support of the Venezuelan people following the US military operation in Venezuela to capture the Venezuelan president, in Barcelona on January 4, 2026. Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro was in a New York jail today after a shock US snatch-and-grab raid to remove him from power and assert Washington's control over the oil-rich South American nation.

SSP's Caitlin Talmadge and Scott Anderson discuss the legal, tactical, and strategic angles of the recent US military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, on a Brookings podcast.

 

 

 

 

 

Scott Anderson and Caitlin Talmadge discuss the legal, tactical, and strategic angles of the recent U.S. military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Anderson, a fellow in Governance Studies and general counsel for Lawfare, and Talmadge, Foreign Policy nonresident senior fellow and professor at M.I.T., explore what the stunning tactical success of the operation means for U.S. strategic goals in the region and around the world.

 

From Brookings Institution