The foundation that awards the Nobel Peace Prize has clarified that a Nobel, once awarded, cannot be “passed on.”
The Nobel Foundation made a statement on the non-transferability of its awards after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gifted her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump last week. The clarifications suggest that the foundation is concerned with being connected to the President of the United States despite numerous world leaders <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pax-trumpana-trumps-resume-for-winning-the-nobel-peace-prize">nominating</a> Trump himself to receive a peace prize.
“One of the core missions of the Nobel Foundation is to safeguard the dignity of the Nobel Prizes and their administration,” the foundation said in a <a href="https://x.com/nobelprize/status/2012826296875667648">statement</a> on Sunday.
“The Foundation upholds Alfred Nobel’s will and its stipulations. It states that the prizes shall be awarded to those who ‘have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind,’ and it specifies who has the right to award each respective prize. A prize can therefore not, even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed,” it said.
The statement followed a release the foundation published on Friday explaining the symbolism behind the award and how, no matter what happens to the physical prize itself, the original recipient of the prize is always considered a Nobel laureate.
“Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize,” the <a href="https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/press/press-releases/the-nobel-prize-and-the-laureate-are-inseparable">release</a> states. “Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
“A laureate cannot share the prize with others, nor transfer it once it has been announced. A Nobel Peace Prize can also never be revoked. The decision is final and applies for all time,” it continues.
The Nobel Foundation&#8217;s repeated clarifications on the Nobel symbolism come after Trump received the Nobel Prize from Machado, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-ends-up-with-nobel-after-all-as-venezuelas-machado-gifts-prize-at-white-house">gave</a> Trump her prize after the United States used military force to raid Venezuela and arrest and extradite former dictator Nicolás Maduro. Maduro is imprisoned in New York on charges related to drug trafficking.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters after meeting with Trump at the White House, “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”

Donald Trump

Nobel Foundation Panics After Machado Gifts Trump Her Award, Says Prize Cannot Be ‘Passed On’

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Nicolas Maduro

Nobel Peace Prize

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World

January 3, 2026, will go down in history as the day Venezuelans recovered something many had believed lost: hope.
That hope did not come from abstract promises, but from the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro — the first sign in decades that Venezuela may veer off the trajectory of authoritarian rule, <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/700568/decade-distress-clouds-venezuela-future.aspx">economic collapse</a>, and <a href="https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/venezuela/#:~:text=About%20the%20Crisis%20in%20Venezuela&amp;text=The%20humanitarian%20crisis%20in%20Venezuela,Latin%20America%20and%20the%20Caribbean.">mass exile</a> that has defined the country for 26 years.
Despite this renewed optimism, many critics of the Trump administration have suggested the operation was somehow unethical or misguided.
Those critics miss the point entirely. Toppling Maduro has paved the way for long-term stability grounded in free-market capitalism and the rule of law to take root in Venezuela. If these forces are allowed to flourish, they will reshape the military, political, and economic structures that guide the country, and allow Venezuela to fully re-enter the global community.
It is no accident that authoritarians controlled Venezuela for as long as they did. To topple a regime from the inside, you need either a massive popular uprising or some kind of military coup. Maduro made sure both were impossible in Venezuela.
A 2013 law banned the sale of firearms and ammunition to civilians and imposes prison sentences of up to 20 years for unauthorized possession. Over the past decade, the Maduro regime aggressively <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2013/0807/Gun-control-Can-Venezuela-regulate-the-flow-of-arms">disarmed the population</a>, ensuring that ordinary citizens have no means to resist a usurping government or defend a democratic transition.
That means no uprising would succeed without the military’s involvement. Which is why in recent years Maduro expanded the Venezuelan officer corps, which reportedly boasts over <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/maduro-is-out-its-unclear-who-is-running-venezuela-2026-01-04/">2,000 generals and admirals</a> — more than double the number in the United States.
In a system saturated with generals, no single faction can act decisively without broad internal backing. Plotting a coup becomes exponentially harder when success requires the loyalty of dozens, if not hundreds, of senior figures rather than a centralized command.
And, because so many of those officers have been <a href="https://www.occrp.org/en/project/revolution-to-riches/how-venezuela-bought-military-loyalty?utm_source=chatgpt.com">rewarded</a> with lucrative posts or interests in vast sectors of the economy, it would be difficult for an opposition faction or reform-minded general to rally enough support within the officer corps to mount a successful coup.
Fortunately, the fact that the Venezuelan military is more a patronage program than a fighting force allowed American forces to topple Maduro in just 88 minutes.
That was a major step in the right direction, but hardly a guarantee of future success.
Even with Maduro gone, any Venezuelan regime that hopes to endure will need the military’s buy-in. And because Maduro spent years purchasing officers’ loyalty, it won’t be easy for an opposition leader to swoop in and take control.
That’s why Maduro’s de facto vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was left in power after Maduro’s capture. Many expected opposition leader María Corina Machado — whose coalition overwhelmingly won the <a href="https://ar.usembassy.gov/assessing-the-results-of-venezuelas-presidential-election/">2024 elections</a> — to assume leadership. Instead, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/us/politics/trump-venezuela-machado.html">declined to back her</a>, arguing she lacked sufficient internal support.
Allowing Rodríguez to serve as a temporary bridge likely reduces the number of officers required to defect at once, lowering the coordination threshold needed to maintain stability. And, at a time when the American body politic is highly suspicious of “regime change” and “forever wars,” respecting this reality ostensibly diminishes the need for troops on the ground.
Moreover, immediate installation would have been politically toxic for Machado. A staunch defender of democratic rule, she must earn her mandate from Venezuelans, not appear as a foreign appointee marching into Miraflores on the heels of American troops.
If Machado is to translate political momentum into lasting change, she will need to leverage Venezuela’s greatest asset: its oil reserves. The country holds an estimated <a href="https://www.opec.org/assets/assetdb/asb-2025.pdf">300 billion barrels of proven reserves</a>, the largest in the world.
But Venezuela’s oil is not an easy prize. Most of it is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/05/venezuelan-crude-oil-appeals-to-us-refineries">heavy or extra-heavy crude</a> — dense, sulfur-rich, and costly to extract, transport, and refine. <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/what-it-takes-to-revive-venezuelas-oil-and-gas-industry/">Oil production has fallen</a> from roughly 3.2 million barrels per day in 2000 to about 1 million today, and <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-big-oil-has-a-long-road-ahead-in-venezuela-the-fallen-angel-of-global-crude-markets-192628377.html">experts agree</a> that rebuilding lost capacity will take years of sustained investment and technical rehabilitation.
Reviving the sector will require tens of billions of dollars in <a href="https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/increasing-venezuelas-oil-output-will-take-several-years-and-billions-dollars">long-term investment</a>. But American companies will not make multi-billion-dollar investments based on speeches, personalities, or election cycles. They will invest if they believe the rules of the game will endure. In this sense, Venezuela’s recovery is inseparable from free-market reform and the rule of law.
This is why the transition underway is about far more than replacing one leader with another. It is about replacing an economic model. Venezuela’s oil sector — and its broader economy — cannot recover without sustained private investment, and sustained private investment requires credible commitment to free-market capitalism, property rights, and the rule of law. Anything less signals instability and thus keeps capital on the sidelines.
Incentives are aligned in a rare and encouraging way. American companies want stability, predictability, and enforceable contracts. Venezuelans want lasting freedom, prosperity, and insulation from the return of authoritarian socialism. Both depend on the same outcome: a durable shift away from state control and toward a market-based system that cannot be easily undone. The more Venezuela commits to capitalism, the safer long-term investment becomes. And the more capital flows in, the harder it becomes for any future government to reverse course without catastrophic cost.
That alignment matters. It creates a feedback loop in which economic openness reinforces political durability, and political durability reinforces economic confidence. This — not ideology, not personality, and not short-term geopolitics — is the most important driver of Venezuela’s future.
Venezuela’s trajectory depends on balancing three forces: military power, political legitimacy, and market-driven recovery. Mismanaging any one of them risks collapse. The United States and its allies must avoid the temptation to pursue oil while tolerating authoritarian continuity. That path would only produce a new class of kleptocrats.
Done correctly, however, this moment offers a rare alignment of interests. Venezuelans want dignity and self-government. Investors want stability and lawful capitalism. And the United States has an opportunity to support a transition that is neither naïve nor imperial, but grounded in realism.
The door is open. What comes next will decide whether hope can walk through it and materialize as the liberty and prosperity millions of Venezuelans, like myself, have been praying, yearning, and working for decades.
Olga Benacerraf de Strulovic is a J.D. Candidate at the University of Chicago Law School. She was born and raised in Venezuela&#8217;s capital city of Caracas, and was one of many Venezuelans who fled the country during Nicolás Maduro&#8217;s rule. 
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The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Caracas

With Maduro Gone, Will Venezuelans Choose Freedom?

maria corina machado

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LIVE UPDATES: Trump Warns Of Dangers Of Aligning With Venezuelan Opposition, Cites Iraq As Example

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Liberals have taken many radical, nonsensical positions in recent years. Few are as baffling as their outrage over President Trump’s removal of Nicolás Maduro, the illegitimate, narco-terrorist dictator of Venezuela — a move the long-suffering citizens of Venezuela are openly cheering.
But not so among progressives, such as the clueless governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, <a href="https://x.com/GovPritzker/status/2007864220017115141?s=20">who claims</a> Trump&#8217;s action was designed, &#8220;To distract from Epstein, the explosion of health and homeowners insurance costs, and the tariffs that are decimating small businesses &#8230;&#8221;
Or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who downplays Maduro’s tyrannical brutality <a href="https://x.com/AOC/status/2007472955882692798">by claiming,</a>&#8221; It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.&#8221;
So, who exactly are Pritzker, AOC, and others of their ilk defending? Why are they saying we should have left him in power?
In 2023, Joe Biden&#8217;s State Department produced a 76-page <a href="https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/528267_VENEZUELA-2023-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf">assessment</a> of specific human rights abuses committed by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his thugs (many of whom were apparently Cuban mercenaries) against their hapless victims. The assessment documents a staggering range of abuses, including:
<blockquote>&#8230;unlawful or arbitrary killings… enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention by security forces… political prisoners… punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative… use of children by illegal armed groups; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists… harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations; extensive gender-based violence… trafficking in persons… and the worst forms of child labor.</blockquote>
The report makes for a tough read, given its summation of the viciousness, cruelty, and ruthlessness of Maduro and his henchmen. 
Want more? What about the details in the federal <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1422326/dl">criminal indictment</a> of Maduro issued by a grand jury in New York?
The superseding indictment charges Maduro and a host of other confederates with running a drug cartel “to import tons of cocaine into the United States.” Makes sense from Maduro’s point of view: his disastrous policies turned Venezuela into an economic basket case, making a once-prosperous country a bankrupt third-world hellhole. Thus, Maduro had to get money from somewhere to line his pockets and finance his depredations.
According to the indictment, Maduro essentially turned the Venezuelan government into a massive drug and illegal weapons smuggling operation, doing everything from using Venezuelan law enforcement to protect his distribution system to issuing “diplomatic passports to drug traffickers” and providing “diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds.”
All of the money was used to enrich himself, his family, and the “political and military elite” who kept him in power. That also included partnering “with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world,” extremely dangerous criminal cartels and terrorist groups that have kidnapped and murdered Americans, like FARC, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, or Cartel del Noreste, and Tren de Aragua.
By the way, the Caribbean drug smugglers that our military has been taking out? Part of the indictment talks about the 200 to 250 tons of cocaine “trafficked” to the U.S. annually by Maduro and his cartel cronies through “maritime shipments…north from Venezuela’s coastline using go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.” Additionally, “air shipments were often dispatched from clandestine airstrips, typically made of dirt or grass, and also from commercial airports under the control” of Maduro and his corrupt officials.
I don’t think the majority of Americans have a lot of sympathy for the criminals smuggling drugs on these “go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships.”
From the drugs poisoning our citizens, especially our youth, to the citizens of Venezuela who have been censored, arrested, tortured, and killed, Maduro has been a scourge who has caused untold harm and suffering.
The political parties and both sides of the political aisle may disagree on many domestic issues. But when it comes to the removal of Nicolás Maduro Moros, progressives, liberals, and Democrats, along with conservatives and Republicans, should be praising the president for finally taking action to rid our hemisphere of this menace.
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Hans von Spakovsky is a Senior Legal Fellow in the Meese Institute for the Rule of Law at Advancing American Freedom.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-US-VENEZUELA-POLITICS-TRUMP

Why Are Democrats Defending A Narco-Terrorist Dictator?

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CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday in Caracas to discuss economic cooperation and intensifying efforts against drug trafficking, a U.S. official confirmed to The Daily Wire. 
The official told The Daily Wire that the meeting focused on &#8220;trust building measures and laying the groundwork for continued communication and room for collaboration between the two governments.&#8221; Rodriguez, who spoke with President Donald Trump during a phone call on Wednesday, became the interim leader of Venezuela after American forces captured dictator Nicolás Maduro.
“At President Trump’s direction, Director Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela to meet with interim President Delcy Rodriguez to deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,&#8221; a U.S. official told The Daily Wire. &#8220;During the meeting in Caracas, Director Ratcliffe discussed potential opportunities for economic collaboration and that Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for America’s adversaries, especially narcotraffickers.”
The official added that the trip was part of the continuation of Trump&#8217;s &#8220;aggressive foreign policy.&#8221; Ratcliffe and &#8220;a small team&#8221; met with Rodriguez and other Venezuelan officials for about two hours, according to the official. Ratcliffe reiterated the need for Venezuela to crack down on drug trafficking, including the violent Tren de Aragua. The official added that the trip showed Ratcliffe is willing to take risks.
The New York Times was the first outlet to report on the trip.
Before Maduro&#8217;s capture, the CIA carried out a reported strike on a Venezuelan port that U.S. officials said was used to load drugs onto boats bound for North America.
Earlier this month, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-leverages-oil-deal-to-make-venezuela-buy-american">announced</a> a controversial oil deal with Venezuela in which the country would provide the United States with between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned crude oil. With the money made from oil sales, Trump said that Venezuela would purchase American agricultural, medical, and electrical equipment. 
Ratcliffe’s meeting with Rodriguez came after Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-ends-up-with-nobel-after-all-as-venezuelas-machado-gifts-prize-at-white-house">met</a> with Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado. 
“María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,&#8221; said Trump. &#8220;Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you, María!”
Top Trump officials have reiterated the administration’s commitment to long-term democratic elections in Venezuela; however, the president has not set a timeline for when elections might take place.
​​“We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-predicts-quick-but-expensive-venezuela-oil-rebuild-we-have-to-nurse-the-country-back?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=23&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Predicts+Quick%2C+But+Expensive+Venezuela+Oil+Rebuild%3A+‘We+Have+To+Nurse+The+Country+Back’">said</a> in an interview last week. “No, it’s going to take a period of time. We have to nurse the country back to health.”

US Seizes Russia-Flagged Tanker After Chase Across Atlantic

CIA Director Meets With Venezuela’s Interim Leader As U.S. Shifts Policy

John Ratcliffe

Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado gifted her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump at the White House Thursday.
Machado met with the president a day after Trump spoke with Venezuela&#8217;s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, over the phone. Machado had previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nobel-peace-prize-winner-dedicates-award-to-trump-for-his-decisive-support">dedicated</a> her award to Trump last year “for his decisive support of our cause.”
“I presented the President of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters on Thursday, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-machado-venezuela-maduro-nobel-peace-prize-ed23992bccabf128b7e849259d3c29a8">Associated Press</a>. She said Trump deserved the accolade “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
Trump thanked Machado for the award and complimented the opposition leader in a post on Truth Social.
“It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much,” <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115902023696178994">said</a> Trump. “María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!”
Top Trump officials have repeated the administration’s commitment to long-term democratic elections in Venezuela, however, the president has not placed a timeline on when elections might happen. Securing trustworthy democratic elections is one of the top priorities of Machado, whose party has been kept out of power in part due to election rigging by Venezuela’s Communist regime.
After ousting former Venezuela strongman Nicolás Maduro earlier this month and forcibly extraditing him to New York to face trial on drug-related charges, the Trump administration has left Rodriguez to steady the Venezuela government while using an oil embargo to force Caracas to align itself with U.S. interests.
Trump has declined to pressure Rodriguez to turn over the government to the opposition. The White House was reportedly convinced prior to Maduro’s arrest that Machado did not have the sway among Venezuela’s government and power brokers to stabilize the government. Some of the reforms that Washington has tasked Caracas with include ridding foreign influence from nations such as China and Cuba from Venezuela’s government.
Washington has kept up pressure on Venezuela by restricting Caracas&#8217; ability to sell oil on the international market. The United States has seized at least half a dozen oil tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude. The ships belong to a “ghost fleet” of foreign vessels that often use deception to carry sanctioned goods.
Instead, Washington has struck a deal with Rodriguez’s administration and will handle the sale of Venezuelan oil on international markets. The Trump administration says it can secure a higher price for Venezuela while keeping influence over Caracas by controlling the flow of its most important export.

María Corina Machado

Trump Ends Up With Nobel After All As Venezuela’s Machado Gifts Prize At White House

Global Politics

The U.S. military seized another Venezuelan-linked oil tanker in the Caribbean early Thursday morning, as federal authorities intensified enforcement against sanctioned vessels tied to the Maduro regime. 
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said a Coast Guard tactical team conducted a pre-dawn raid of the motor tanker Veronica, the sixth sanctioned vessel seized by the Coast Guard in recent weeks. The operation went smoothly, and the ship was seized without incident, Noem said. 
“As another sanctioned ghost fleet tanker, Motor Tanker Veronica had previously passed through Venezuelan waters, and was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” Noem posted on X, sharing footage of the operation. 
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Early this morning, a Coast Guard tactical team conducted a pre-dawn boarding and seizure of Motor Tanker Veronica in the Caribbean. As another sanctioned ghost fleet tanker, Motor Tanker Veronica had previously passed through Venezuelan waters, and was operating in defiance of… <a href="https://t.co/MyWyQGH1h0">pic.twitter.com/MyWyQGH1h0</a>
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/2011803374807547909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“As we’ve now demonstrated through multiple boardings, there is no outrunning or escaping American justice — period. Our resolve is unshakeable and our mission coordination has never been better. America&#8217;s Coast Guard remains Always Ready to apply the full force of its unique authorities and specialized capabilities against this threat anywhere, anytime,” she added. 
U.S. Southern Command <a href="https://x.com/Southcom/status/2011798070816612578">said</a> that Marines and sailors assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Spear took part in the seizure after launching from the USS Gerald R. Ford. The task force is focused on disrupting drug trafficking and other illegal activities in the Western Hemisphere. 
“The Veronica is the latest tanker operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean, proving the effectiveness of Operation Southern Spear yet again,” Southern Command said. “The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.”
Trump has promised that American companies will invest billions to rebuild Venezuelan oil fields. 
Last week, the Coast Guard seized a tanker flying a Russian flag that had previously bypassed an American blockade. The ship, the Marinera, had been on the run for two weeks and was set to be escorted by a Russian submarine and warships. 
The operation came a few hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. The meeting is expected to focus on Venezuela’s future following the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. Trump has said he doesn’t expect Machado to have enough support to become Venezuela’s next leader.

MixCollage-15-Jan-2026-11-15-AM-4169

Another Venezuelan-Linked Oil Tanker Seized As U.S. Enforces Trump Blockade

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Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday evening, killing the War Powers Resolution that was designed to curtail President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration if any further military action was warranted in Venezuela.
Vance presided over the Senate as the vote was tallied to 50 yeas and 50 nays — with Republican Senators Rand Paul (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) voting with Democrats. After announcing that the vote was tied, Vance briefly conferred with someone at the desk before announcing his vote.
WATCH:
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🚨 BREAKING: Vice President JD VANCE just DEFEATED the anti-Trump War Powers vote in the Senate on Venezuela, casting the tie-breaking vote, 51-50
The resolution has officially FAILED.
THANK YOU JD! You can always rely on VP Vance! 🇺🇸
Trump wins again 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/8f7Eprt1Jg">pic.twitter.com/8f7Eprt1Jg</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2011584816203121105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;On this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the Vice President votes —&#8221; Vance quickly covered the microphone as he looked over the legislation on the desk in front of him
&#8220;Affirmative. And the point of order is sustained,&#8221; he said, chuckling, after the brief pause. &#8220;I had to make sure.&#8221;
Two other Republican Senators had initially indicated that they would vote with Democrats on the measure, but were convinced to change their votes prior to Wednesday evening.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) told Fox News host Will Cain that he&#8217;d been assured by the White House that there would be no move to put troops on the ground in Venezuela without going through the proper congressional channels.
&#8220;For me, it&#8217;s always been about troops,&#8221; Hawley explained, adding, &#8220;I talked to the president &#8230; I thank for the admin for the outreach. We are not going to occupy Venezuela. That&#8217;s good enough for me.&#8221;
WATCH:
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🚨 BREAKING: Sen. Josh Hawley has FLIPPED on the War Powers resolution against President Trump&#8217;s Venezuela operation
Hawley is now a NAY, after voting YEA to advance it, drawing a sharp response from Trump
&#8220;For me, it&#8217;s always been about troops&#8230;I talked to the president&#8230;I… <a href="https://t.co/yFuo2RKVOc">pic.twitter.com/yFuo2RKVOc</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2011553809886306618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Senator Todd Young (R-IN) also changed his vote prior to Wednesday, saying that he&#8217;d been convinced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who indicated a willingness to testify on the matter before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Rubio also said in a letter to Young that if the United States were to engage in &#8220;major military operations&#8221; in Venezuela, the administration would &#8220;seek congressional authorization in advance (circumstances permitting).&#8221;

Vice President JD Vance Hosts The Charlie Kirk Show In Tribute To Kirk

Vance Sinks War Powers Resolution With Tie-Breaking Vote

JD Vance

Josh Hawley

Politics

War Powers Resolution

The world today stands at a historical turning point.
Over the past two decades, the West has shown unmistakable signs of decline. Internally, it has lost confidence, been corroded by left-wing Marxist ideology, and been overwhelmed by massive illegal migration. Externally, a new “Axis of Evil” is ascendant, the anti-American alliance of repressive regimes including China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea.
President Donald Trump understands the threat of this alliance — and China in particular — more than his predecessors ever did. And he realizes China cannot be defeated in isolation. It must be strategically surrounded, economically strained, and stripped of its allies.
Armed with this understanding, Trump has moved with speed and clarity so far in his second term. Upon returning to office, Trump reignited the tariff war against China, deliberately targeting Beijing at a moment of extreme vulnerability, after Xi Jinping’s draconian COVID policies had already crippled China’s economy.
Then came decisive blows against China’s key partners.
In late June, Trump authorized the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities. In September, the U.S. military began striking narco-terrorist vessels operating out of Venezuela. This campaign culminated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, shattering China’s and Russia’s primary foothold in Latin America.
The effects were immediate and dramatic. Thousands of Venezuelan political prisoners were released, achieving in days what decades of U.N. resolutions and human-rights advocacy had failed to accomplish. At the same time, widespread anti-regime protests that erupted in Iran in late December began to intensify.
Reports have emerged that Iranian demonstrators openly appealed to Trump for help. Trump publicly expressed support for the protesters, telling them, “help is on the way,” and warning Iranian leaders, “you better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
Beijing is watching with horror, knowing the same could one day happen in China. What we are witnessing is the rapid unraveling of the New Axis of Evil.
For the Chinese Communist Party, unrest in Iran and regime collapse in Venezuela represent strategic disasters. China is losing key partners, critical energy access, and geopolitical leverage — along with up to $100 billion in Venezuelan investments that are now effectively unrecoverable. Worse, these crises expose Beijing’s inability to protect or stabilize its allied dictatorships.
The dominoes do not stop there. Without Venezuelan oil subsidies, Cuba — the longest-lasting communist regime in the Western Hemisphere — cannot survive. North Korea, effectively a CCP client state, faces an even grimmer future as China’s own economy deteriorates. Russia, the last major pillar of this bloc, is bogged down in its costly war in Ukraine and increasingly dependent on Chinese economic lifelines — lifelines that are themselves fraying.
After the Maduro capture, the American Left condemned Trump for violating international law. They fail to grasp a fundamental reality: international law has already collapsed. The greatest rule-breaker is Communist China, which violated nearly every international rule and norm on its path to superpower status. Trump does not seek to restrain rule-breakers with fantasies. He seeks to dismantle the ecosystems that sustain them.
This is the essence of the Trump Doctrine: sever the links that allow repressive regimes to support one another, clear hostile powers out of America’s strategic backyard, and prevent regional conflicts from metastasizing into global catastrophe. From Latin America to the Arctic, Trump has moved to block Chinese and Russian encroachment — including openly asserting American strategic interests in Greenland, which Beijing and Moscow had already penetrated while Denmark stood idle.
And the president is just getting started. Days into the new year, Trump proposed the creation of a “Dream Military,” calling for a 2027 defense budget of $1.5 trillion — an increase of more than 66%.
By raising the military and technological bar across the board, the United States forces China into an impossible choice: fall further behind, or attempt to keep pace and cripple itself through runaway military spending, technological isolation, and economic slowdown. The Soviet Union faced this very dilemma — and collapsed.
Trump does not need to defeat the CCP in battle. He only needs to force it into a competition it cannot afford.
And that is how empires fall. From within.
Xi Van Fleet and Yu Jie are authors of the forthcoming book “Made in America: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Enabled Communist China and Created Our Greatest Threat.”
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The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
READ MORE:
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-lived-in-the-communist-world-zohran-mamdani-dreams-of-its-worse-than-you-could-imagine?author=Xi+Van+Fleet&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=I+Lived+In+The+Communist+World+Zohran+Mamdani+Dreams+Of.+It%E2%80%99s+Worse+Than+You+Could+Imagine.">I Lived In The Communist World Zohran Mamdani Dreams Of. It’s Worse Than You Could Imagine.</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/license-to-kill-what-turns-normal-people-to-political-violence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Maoists, Part I: License To Kill: What Turns Normal People To Political Violence?</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-wheel-of-misfortune-victims-victimhood-and-victimization?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Xi+Van+Fleet+and+Sasha+Gong&amp;category=Opinion&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=The+Wheel+Of+Misfortune%3A+Victims%2C+Victimhood%2C+And+Victimization" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Maoists, Part II: The Wheel Of Misfortune: Victims, Victimhood, And Victimization</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-red-guard-to-blue-hair-why-leftists-destroy-womanhood?author=Xi+Van+Fleet+and+Sasha+Gong&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=From+Red+Guard+To+Blue+Hair%3A+Why+Leftists+Destroy+Womanhood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Maoists, Part III: From Red Guard To Blue Hair: Why Leftists Destroy Womanhood</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/proletarian-profanity-like-communists-democrats-want-to-trap-voters-in-a-linguistic-ghetto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Maoists, Part IV: Proletarian Profanity: Why Democrats Want To Trap Voters In A Linguistic Ghetto</a>
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/erasing-history-the-real-cultural-marxism?author=Xi+Van+Fleet+and+Sasha+Gong&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Erasing+History%3A+The+Real+Cultural+Marxism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Maoists, Part V: Erasing History: The Real Cultural Marxism</a></h4>
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Donald Trump/Xi Jinping

How Trump Can Defeat China Without Firing A Single Shot

China

Iran

A Venezuelan illegal immigrant who allegedly took part in a violent strangling death that led to an individual being stuffed into a suitcase and buried in a “remote” part of New Mexico was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on January 8, <a href="https://www.fox21news.com/news/local/tren-de-aragua-member-arrested/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox 21 News Colorado</a> reported.
Yorvis Michel Carrascal Campo, an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member, is one of 11 people indicted by the Justice Department in December in the case, as the victim was allegedly kidnapped by the group that later tried to hide the evidence of the crime in June 2024, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Carrascal Campo is one of seven individuals facing charges for “conspiracy to conduct racketeering activity, murder in aid of racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy,” according to a DOJ press release prior to the arrest. DHS said he crossed the southern border into the United States illegally in October 2023 during the Biden-era border crisis, and he had a final order to exit the country in June 2024, just days before the murder occurred.
“Carrascal Campo’s crimes shock the conscience and are yet another example of the failed border policies of Joe Biden that RELEASED TdA gang members into American communities,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement first shared with The Daily Wire.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1027203" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1027203" class="size-medium wp-image-1027203" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/image001-300x300.png" alt=" Yorvis Michel Carrascal Campo" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/image001-300x300.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/image001-150x150.png 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/image001.png 360w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Yorvis Michel Carrascal Campo, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. (Department of Homeland Security)</div>
He is one of five explicitly named in the indictment for “[carrying] out the TdA leader&#8217;s order to kill John Doe I by restraining and strangling John Doe I until John Doe I died” in Albuquerque. The victim was questioned regarding “his loyalty to TdA and his connections to rival gangs.”
The DOJ alleges that Carrascal Campo was one of three people who “cleaned up the scene of the murder to conceal the murder from law enforcement” and helped with burying the body.
In addition, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/media/1421321/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indictment</a> said that Carrascal Campo “supplied” ketamine between May and June 2024 to those involved with TdA in New Mexico as a way to “manufacture and distribute tusi.” Tusi is better known as pink cocaine.
“Just last week, two vicious Tren de Aragua gang members—also let loose on American streets by Joe Biden—weaponized their vehicle against Border Patrol in Portland. These are the types of monsters our law enforcement is targeting. We are working around the clock to clean up the chaos caused by the Biden administration who let untold millions of illegal aliens including murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, and gang members pour into our country,” DHS said in a statement.
The arrest comes as ICE continues to apprehend illegals nationwide and faces protests throughout the country.

Crime Scene at Night: Crime Scene Investigation Team Working on a Murder. Female Police Officer Briefing Detective on the Victim’s Body. Forensics and Paramedics Working. Cinematic Shot

Suspected Tren De Aragua Member Arrested In Brutal New Mexico Strangling Case

Crime

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

New Mexico

Tren De Aragua

U.S.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday, a White House official confirmed to The Daily Wire.
The meeting comes as Trump plans the next phase for Venezuela&#8217;s government and oil industry as the United States continues to apply pressure on the socialist regime following the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro. Trump appears to have a strong relationship with Machado, who was named the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize over Trump, but the president said earlier this month that he doesn&#8217;t believe Machado has enough &#8220;support&#8221; or &#8220;respect&#8221; in Venezuela to become its next leader.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said. “She doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
Machado has been one of Maduro&#8217;s top enemies after gaining momentum as an opposition leader in 2024. Despite winning her party&#8217;s primary to challenge Maduro, she was disqualified by the government as a presidential candidate. She then backed Maduro&#8217;s challenger, Edmundo González, but was forced to flee the country after Maduro was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election over González despite evidence showing that Maduro lost.
After the United States captured Maduro in a late-night raid on January 3, Trump has declined to throw his support behind a regime change, which could put someone like Machado or González in power. Instead, Trump continues to negotiate with the interim government, which remains loyal to Maduro.
“We don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years,” Trump said at a press conference following Maduro&#8217;s capture.
Venezuela&#8217;s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, condemned the United States following the raid on Maduro&#8217;s compound and claims that Maduro remains the rightful leader of the country.
Machado&#8217;s meeting with Trump could give the opposition leader an opportunity to convince the president to push for major government reform in Venezuela, and she suggested that she would offer Trump her Nobel Peace Prize for the work he&#8217;s done in capturing Maduro. Trump responded to the offer, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5681120-trump-machado-nobel-peace-prize/">saying</a> it would be a &#8220;great honor&#8221; to accept the prize from Machado. The Norwegian Nobel Institute said on Friday, however, that the prize cannot be transferred to another person after it has been awarded.
“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others,” the institute wrote, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/world/americas/trump-nobel-peace-prize-maria-machado.html">according</a> to The New York Times. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”
After she was named the Nobel Peace Prize winner in October, Machado <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nobel-peace-prize-winner-dedicates-award-to-trump-for-his-decisive-support">dedicated</a> the award to Trump “for his decisive support of our cause.” Trump has long sought a Nobel and said earlier this month that it was “a major embarrassment to Norway” that he was not the 2025 winner.

TOPSHOT-NORWAY-VENEZUELA-NOBEL-PEACE-PRIZE

Trump Sets Date To Meet With Machado After Saying She Likely Won’t Lead Venezuela

Trump Sets Date For Sit-Down With Machado After Saying She Likely Won't Lead Venezuela

President Donald Trump said on Sunday night that he is leaning toward keeping Exxon Mobil, the largest oil company in the United States, out of his plans for Venezuela oil after the company&#8217;s CEO told a White House roundtable that the country is &#8220;uninvestable.&#8221;
Trump met with leaders of multiple oil companies at the White House on Friday to discuss the administration&#8217;s $100 billion plan to rebuild Venezuela&#8217;s oil market. Executives from Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Marathon, and Valero were also in attendance at the roundtable and, for the most part, expressed enthusiasm about opportunities in Venezuela, which will be under U.S. oversight following the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods, however, expressed some caution about restarting operations in Venezuela, saying that &#8220;significant changes&#8221; are needed in the country&#8217;s infrastructure.
&#8220;We have had our assets seized there twice and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we&#8217;ve historically seen and what is currently the state,&#8221; Woods said. &#8220;Today it&#8217;s uninvestable.&#8221;
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump <a href="https://x.com/sentdefender/status/2010534645700362646">expressed</a> displeasure with Exxon.
&#8220;You know, we have so many that wanted [to be involved] – I’d probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn’t like their response. They’re playing too cute.”
Woods argued that Venezuela would need to change its regulatory and legal frameworks while guaranteeing the protection of foreign capital. He added that Exxon was prepared to send a team to the country to assess the condition of Venezuela&#8217;s oil infrastructure. Asked by Trump how long it would take Exxon Mobil to get started in Venezuela, he replied, &#8220;We can hit the ground in the next couple of weeks.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s what we want,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We want speed and quality.&#8221;
Trump also promised security guarantees for the oil companies that go into Venezuela. Exxon was forced out of the country in 2007 when former socialist dictator Hugo Chávez required foreign companies to hand over control of their companies to a state-owned oil company.
Exxon said it was forced to leave behind about $20 billion in assets after the nationalization of the oil industry in Venezuela. An international arbitration court ordered Venezuela to pay Exxon approximately $1.6 billion in 2014, but the socialist government has disputed that ruling, and Exxon has yet to receive payment, the Houston Chronicle <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/houston-oil-debts-venezuela-exxon-conocophillips-21283752.php">reported</a>.
Exxon is not the only U.S. oil company to lose billions of dollars after being forced out of Venezuela. Citgo also estimates that the Venezuelan government is holding around $20 billion in its assets, and ConocoPhillips says it was forced to leave $12 billion in the country and is still owed around $10 billion by the Venezuelan government.
Chevron was the only American oil company to continue operating in Venezuela after the government nationalized the oil industry, but it was forced to relinquish control of many of its assets.
Trump said during the roundtable that his administration is not seeking to recover lost assets in Venezuela.
&#8220;We’re not going to look at what people lost in the past, because that was their fault. That was a different president. You’re going to make a lot of money, but we’re not going to go back,&#8221; he said.
The president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-predicts-quick-but-expensive-venezuela-oil-rebuild-we-have-to-nurse-the-country-back">believes</a> the United States can rebuild Venezuela&#8217;s oil industry in less than two years, provided &#8220;very large&#8221; American companies invest in the project.
&#8220;A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue,&#8221; he said last week.

Trump Threatens To Shut U.S. Oil Giant Out Of Venezuela Plans After CEO Calls Country ‘Uninvestable’

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