The US military operation that removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from Caracas to stand trial in New York City on January 3rd 2026 has generated heated analysis around the world. To what extent is the Trump administration's action a continuation of a long-standing pattern of US intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to what extent does it represent a new "Trump Corollary" of the Monroe Doctrine? In assessing the appropriateness of the action, what should be the relative weight of, on one hand, popular sovereignty (and its denial in the fraudulent election result in Venezuela of July 2024) and, on the other hand, state sovereignty and head of state immunity as a basis of international law? Will the US intervention result in "Madurismo without Maduro", or instead kick-start a transition to democracy in which the opposition to the Maduro regime will have a significant role? How grave is the risk that the regime currently led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez will splinter into different factions? Is the Trump administration's announced plan to award oil production contracts to US multinationals a feasible basis for revitalizing the Venezuelan economy? What are the consequences of this intervention for the rest of Latin America and the world? For example, how does it affect the interests of the Maduro regime's erstwhile partners Cuba, Russia, China, and Iran? And are the Trump administration's threats against Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, and Greenland credible?
Join us to listen to a panel of experts discuss these and other questions of great significance for Venezuela, Latin America, and the world. Our panelists are:
Francisco Rodriguez, Senior Research Fellow, Korbel School, University of Denver
Alla Rosca, President, World Affairs Council of New Orleans
David Smilde, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, Tulane University
Verónica Zubillaga, Mellon Visiting Scholar, School of Liberal Arts, University of Illinois Chicago
Moderator: Anthony Pereira, Executive Director, Stone Center, Tulane University
