Trump's Venezuela gamble: Why China, Russia and Iran just lost their foothold in Latin America

Two days on from Donald Trump’s extraordinary capture of
Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the dust has barely begun to
settle.


Maduro is appearing today in a New York court where he will be
charged with “narco-terrorism” and conspiracy to import cocaine,
which can carry life sentences under US law.


But Maduro is not the only loser in all of this. Iran, Russia and
China have all lost a valuable client - one who sold them oil,
bought their weapons, and provided them with a beachhead on
America's doorstep. 


Venetia is joined by Dr Carlos Solar, a Latin American Security
at RUSI, and Adrian Blomfield, The Telegraph's senior foreign
correspondent, to discuss the downsides - and upsides - for
America's enemies, the Monroe Doctrine's renewed relevance, and
what will happen next. 


Pic credit: Marcelo GARCIA/AFP


Read Adrian's analysis of what the capture of Maduro means for
China and
Russia: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/03/venezuela-regime-change-russia-china-impact/


Venezuela becomes Trump’s energy superweapon against
China: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/01/05/venezuela-becomes-trumps-energy-superweapon-against-china/


Producer: Peter Shevlin


Executive Producer: Louisa Wells


Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look
forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest
stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor


Contact us with feedback or ideas:


battlelines@telegraph.co.uk 


@venetiarainey


@RolandOliphant


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.