Seized Venezuelan chief behind NY bars

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ended up in a New York jail Saturday, hours after American special forces seized and flew him out of his country, which Donald Trump said would come under effective US control.

The US president’s announcement followed a lightning pre-dawn attack in which commandos grabbed Maduro and his wife while air strikes pounded sites in and around Caracas.

A government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall, and he was transported by helicopter to New York City, where the couple were to be arraigned on drug trafficking and weapons charges.

The local markets are waiting for further actions to base their investment decisions on.

Trump cited the Monroe Doctrine in asserting US influence over the Western Hemisphere, similar to the invasion of Panama in December 1989.

The decision was driven by his conviction that Venezuelan leaders had stolen US investments in Venezuela’s energy sector.

“It’s still wait-and-see on how the world oil market price reacts today, 5 January, upon resumption of global financial markets trading, since this happened over the weekend, after trading hours,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. economist Michael Ricafort said.

“If these geopolitical risks would have an impact on the economy, particularly on inflation and oil imports and trade deficit, as well as any potential volatility in the global financial markets. Would it be similar to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, since geopolitics on oil is involved, the US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2021 that could have potential indirect effects on the local financial markets,” he added.

Venezuela is an oil-producing country, with around 800,000 barrels per day or less than one percent of world oil output, and a member of OPEC, with relatively large oil reserves.

Ricafort also said that other global powers, such as China, which is the largest buyer of Venezuela’s oil and the Latin American country’s biggest creditor and investor, are watching closely.

China condemned the US military strikes on Venezuela, Russia, Iran, among others.

Maduro’s greeting

The White House posted a video on X of Maduro, handcuffed and in sandals, escorted by federal agents through a US Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York.

“Good night, happy new year,” the 63-year-old leftist is heard saying in English.

Despite the success of the risky raid, what happens next is highly uncertain.

Trump said he was “designating people” from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela, but gave no further details.

In another surprise, Trump indicated US troops could be deployed, saying Washington is “not afraid of boots on the ground.”

But he appeared to reject the possibility of the country’s opposition taking power and said he could work instead with Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez.

One aspect that became clearer was Trump’s interest in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies... go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure,” he said.