- Digital Lifeline: Elon Musk’s Starlink announced it is providing free broadband internet to the people of Venezuela through February 3 to ensure continued connectivity following the US military strikes.
- Geopolitical Interests: Amid the leadership vacuum, President Trump signaled a focus on Venezuela’s oil reserves, stating that major US oil companies would be deployed to rebuild infrastructure and “start making money for the country.”
Elon Musk’s internet service Starlink will provide free broadband services to Venezuela until February 3, said a post by the company on its official X account.
The news comes after American special forces raided Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and abducted him and flew him out of the country on Saturday morning.
This morning, Maduro was seen in a New York jail, per a video posted by the White House on X.
A US government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall, and he was transported by helicopter to New York City, where Maduro and his wife were to be arraigned on drug trafficking and weapons charges.
The White House posted 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.
“We’ll be selling large amounts of oil.”
