On January 3, 2026, U.S. special operations forces grabbed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in a pre-dawn raid, flew him out of Caracas, and delivered him into federal custody in New York to face long-standing narco-terrorism charges. He is now sitting in a U.S. detention center, preparing to stand trial in Manhattan, in one of the most extraordinary cases ever brought against a foreign head of state.

In this episode, We walk through how a sealed indictment, a record-breaking bounty, and years of quiet planning led to the moment American operators took down a sitting president. Then we follow the chain outward: why Venezuela’s oil, cocaine routes, and criminal networks made Maduro more than just another authoritarian on Washington’s enemies list, and how this move echoes the takedown of Manuel Noriega in 1989.

From there, we dig in ...