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What I learnt in Venezuela

Many are celebrating the ouster of a brutal dictator, but the Maduro regime may survive the loss of Maduro

Summarise
    • The military and intelligence side of Trump's Venezuela operation was masterful, but the legal and political sides seem frightful, and that bodes poorly for the country’s future.
    • The military and intelligence side of Trump's Venezuela operation was masterful, but the legal and political sides seem frightful, and that bodes poorly for the country’s future. PHOTO: REUTERS

    Nicholas Kristof

    Published Tue, Jan 6, 2026 · 07:00 AM

    ON MY last visit to Venezuela in 2019, I saw children starving because of the kleptocracy overseen by President Nicolas Maduro.

    In the impoverished, violent slum of La Dolorita in Caracas, I met an emaciated five-year-old girl, Alaska. Her mother told me that Alaska, weighing just 11.8 kg and near death from malnutrition, had been turned away from four hospitals because no beds were available.

    Another mother wept as she said that her eight-month-old baby girl, Daisha, died after three hospitals had turned the girl away.

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    VenezuelaNicolas MaduroTrump administrationLatin AmericaGeopolitics

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