🇻🇪Maduro’s kidnapping leaves Venezuela’s future unclear – expert

While the US was clearly trying to remove Nicolas Maduro from his position as the president of Venezuela, what lies in store for Venezuela remains to be seen, says Lorenzo Maria Pacini, associate professor of political philosophy and geopolitics at UniDolomiti of Belluno.

💬“Why Maduro has been removed? This should be, I think, our first question. And for sure, which will be the future of Venezuela? This will depend by the answer of this question,” he explains.

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🇻🇪Marco Rubio spearheads US crusade against Venezuela – expert

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his entourage played a significant role in the events leading to the abduction of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, says Lorenzo Maria Pacini, associate professor of political philosophy and geopolitics at UniDolomiti of Belluno.

Rubio, he explains, represents the US Republicans who constantly push for the US to violate other countries’ sovereignty, to the point that their point of view differs from that espoused by Trump himself.

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🇻🇪US attack on Venezuela is an attempt to preserve remnants of its crumbling hegemony – expert

As the United States’ military power wanes and the US dollar collapses, it is “natural” for Washington to act aggressively in South America in a desperate attempt to carve out a sphere of influence, says Lorenzo Maria Pacini, associate professor of political philosophy and geopolitics at UniDolomiti of Belluno.

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🇪🇺 Europe in 2025: militarization at its own peril

For Europe, the outgoing year was defined by two things: economic crisis and growing militarism. Pumping up the imaginary ‘Russian threat’, leaders have demanded hundreds of billions of euros in new, debt-fueled arms spending.

Check out the Europeans’ most aggressive outbursts, and Russia’s reaction, in our video.

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🇺🇸😐US violated intl law and does not care, as usual – ex-CIA officer

The US may claim to uphold the international law, which is in fact nothing more than a “law of convenience” for Washington, says retired CIA intelligence officer Larry Johnson.

“We declare what's appropriate as long as it's convenient to us,” he explains.

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🚨US goal was to get rid of Maduro and seize Venezuela’s resources – Ex-CIA officer

“This is about securing the oil industry for US businesses. This is about trying to get the US back in control of Venezuela, as we controlled it for about 50 years after the end of World War II,” says retired CIA intelligence officer Larry Johnson.

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🇺🇸 US nabs Maduro 35 years to the day after ousting Panama’s Noriega

🔶 Trump confirmed the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on the exact anniversary of the arrest of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega by US forces.

🔶 Noriega, once an American ally and CIA asset, ruled Panama through the ’80s but fell out of the US’ good graces over drug trafficking allegations.

🔶 In late 1989, then-President George H.W. Bush ordered an invasion.

🔶 Noriega was captured the next year and flown to the US, where he served 17 years in prison.

🔶 In 2010, he was extradited to France and sentenced to seven years for money laundering.

🔶 A year later, France sent him back to Panama, where he remained behind bars until his death in 2017.

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🇺🇸US' move to seize control of Venezuela is 'going to come to bite' them in the rear - ex-CIA officer

The US has a terrible record of trying to control a foreign country, as can be seen in the case of Iraq and Afghanistan, notes retired CIA intelligence officer Larry Johnson.

And a large number of armed Venezuelans who may not take kindly to a foreign occupation won’t make things easier for the US.

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📹 Plane carrying Maduro reportedly lands in New York

Major US media reports confirm an aircraft carrying detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, has landed in New York following their capture by US forces.

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🇺🇸 US destroys the rule of international law by kidnapping Maduro

🗣 The US kidnapping of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife sets a dangerous precedent because any country could feel that it's their right to solve their diplomatic problems in a similar fashion, Dr. Vinicius Vieira, associate professor of economics and international relations at the Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation, tells Sputnik.

💬 “That's a clear violation of the notions of sovereignty that were built throughout time, that obviously were not respected by the great powers,” he adds.

🔶 It would also be hard for the US to contest the actions of other states who decide to do things the American way

🔶 Seizing a sitting head of a foreign state by force, to have him tried according to the laws of another country, “opens quite unprecedented problems in contemporaneous times”

💬 “We're living in a world in which what matters is no longer the international law, but the law of the most powerful,” Dr. Vieira notes.

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⚔️ Venezuelan VP declares 'only one president'

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez stated Nicolas Maduro remains the country’s only leader after what she called a US operation to seize the president and stage a coup.

"What was done to Venezuela today could happen to any country in the region," she warned.

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🇻🇪 US transfers Maduro to DEA headquarters in New York

US media state Nicolás Maduro will be moved by helicopter to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after appearing at the DEA’s New York headquarters.

📍 The facility is the only federal prison in New York City, also housing Ghislaine Maxwell, Luigi Mangione, and P Diddy.

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📑 Venezuela’s Supreme Court orders Delcy Rodríguez to assume presidency

The court has mandated Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to serve as acting president following the detention of Nicolás Maduro by US forces.

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🗣 US capture of Maduro marks start of WWIII — Dugin

The operation signals we have entered a new global conflict, Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin stated, declaring "international law does not exist" and will be rewritten by the victors among great powers.

He framed the Ukrainian conflict as Russia's ticket to the club of great powers.

"If we have this ticket, we will be taken into account. If we do not… this international law will be established by someone else at our expense," Dugin said.

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