The trial of Nicolás Maduro has begun. On January 3, the elected president of Venezuela was kidnapped and flown to the U.S. to face drug smuggling charges in a case that is already falling apart.
Prosecutors have already admitted that the "Cartel of the Suns" - the drugs organization Maduro supposedly led - does not exist. Moreover, the supposed "key witness" in the investigation has a deeply shady history working with U.S. intelligence.
Maduro pled not guilty and asserted that he is a "prisoner of war". Yet Donald Trump has insisted that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela. But how else to describe sending in Special Forces to kidnap the head of state of a foreign country?
Today, Mnar Adley is joined by MintPress News' Senior Staff Writer and Producer, Alan MacLeod, the author of the book, "Bad News From Venezuela, 20 Years of Fake News and Misreporting."
The corporate media have played their part in a decades-long campaign to undermine and attack Venezuela, refusing to describe Trump's blatantly illegal actions as "kidnapping" or illegal. The BBC has made it explicit, its news editor sending a memo to all journalists explicitly telling them to "avoid using" the word "kidnapped".
Western leaders have welcomed Trump's actions. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, for instance, celebrated the end of what he called "Nicolás Maduro's brutally oppressive criminal regime," and "welcome[d] the opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for the Venezuelan people." His reaction was quite different when, last year, Trump considered the possibility of invading and annexing Canada.
Yet, across the Global South, leaders have condemned the kidnapping of a sitting head of state. South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa summed up the mood, stating, "We reject utterly the actions that the United States has embarked upon, and stand with the people of Venezuela."
A.I.-generated videos claiming to show Venezuelans rising up against their tyrannical government and welcoming Trump's attack are proliferating across social media, and being boosted by some of the most powerful people on the planet.
In reality, few inside Venezuela - even members of the anti-Maduro opposition - welcome the prospect of their country being attacked and potentially turned into another Libya or Syria-style civil war.
One individual cheering Trump's actions, however, is Maria Corina Machado, the Washington-funded far-right politician, who recently offered her newly-acquired Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump.
All of this has certainly distracted us from the Epstein Files, the newest tranche of which heavily implicates Trump in all manner of crimes related to the disgraced sex trafficker.
It also sends a shot across the bow to many other countries, including Cuba and Colombia, who Trump has said are next in line for regime change. And with Europe Supporting Trump to the fullest and offering no resistance, U.S. officials are already openly plotting an invasion and annexation of Greenland.
Join us today to hear a lively discussion about important ongoing events.
Feature photo |Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro with his wife Cilia Flores arrive at New York Heliport on their way to the Federal Court in Manhattan, New York on January 5, 2026. Photo |AP
Mnar Adley is an award-winning journalist and editor and is the founder and director of MintPress News. She is also president and director of the non-profit media organization Behind the Headlines. Adley also co-hosts the MintCast podcast and is a producer and host of the video series Behind The Headlines. Contact Mnar at mnar@mintpressnews.com or follow her on Twitter at @mnarmuh.