“We demand the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores,” Rodriguez said, calling Maduro “the only president of Venezuela.” A Venezuelan court later ordered Rodriguez to assume the position of interim president. “The people that are standing right behind me” – such as Rubio and Hegseth – would oversee the country, Trump said. He said on Saturday that as president, including his first term, he has overseen military actions that were “only victories.” But none of those involved removing another country’s leader. The United States has leveled similar charges against Maduro, accusing him of running a “narco-state” and rigging the 2024 election. Various estimates by academics say the actual cost to the United States of its years-long entanglement in Iraq ended up being at least $2 trillion.

Source: The Patriot January 04, 2026 09:08 UTC