文章称美军在2026年1月2日凌晨对委内瑞拉多个军事目标发动行动并逮捕尼古拉斯·马杜罗，特朗普在1月3日的记者会表示，委内瑞拉将由美方高阶官员暂管，直到完成「安全、适当、审慎的过渡」。反对派领袖玛丽亚·科里纳·马查多则主张以2024年7月28日大选的「合法性」为基础，要求埃德蒙多·冈萨雷斯·乌鲁蒂亚立即就任。

文中把重点放在能源与资产：特朗普指称美国在「数十年前」遭委内瑞拉夺走石油与资产，损失「数十亿美元」，并称将让美国大型油企投入「数十亿美元」修复基础设施。文章提到委内瑞拉拥有逾3000亿桶未开采原油储量，但多为重质／超重质且部分位于离岸或深层，开采难度与成本高；目前日产约100万桶，远低于1990年代末期约350万桶，约下降七成。

军事层面，联参主席丹·凯恩称「绝对决心行动」动用超过150架飞机、从20个海陆基地起飞，并历经数月规划与演练；特朗普又称可能不需第二波，但已准备「第二波」。区域层面，文章连结到2025年12月发布的《国家安全战略》与1823年门罗主义，称「唐罗主义」旨在确保西半球「美国优势」、排除中俄等域外势力控制战略资产，并把非法移民、毒品走私与边境安全作为主要目标；特朗普并以「30万人」死于毒品为由点名墨西哥与哥伦比亚。

The piece says US forces struck Venezuelan military targets in the early hours of January 2, 2026 and captured Nicolás Maduro, after which Donald Trump (speaking January 3) claimed Venezuela’s governance would be run by senior US officials until a “proper and judicious transition.” Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado counters that the July 28, 2024 election mandate requires Edmundo González Urrutia to assume the presidency immediately.

Numbers anchor the oil argument: Venezuela is described as holding over 300 billion barrels of unextracted crude reserves, much of it heavy or extra-heavy and partly offshore or deep underground, raising costs and complexity. Output is put at about 1 million barrels per day versus roughly 3.5 million in the late 1990s—around a 70% drop. Trump also alleges “billions and billions” in past losses and says US oil firms would spend billions to rebuild infrastructure and monetize production.

Operational details include “Operation Absolute Resolve,” said to involve more than 150 aircraft launching from 20 land and sea bases after months of planning, with Trump warning of a possible second wave. Regionally, the article ties events to a December 2025 National Security Strategy and a rebranded Monroe Doctrine (1823), aiming for US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere and blocking rivals like China or Russia from controlling vital assets. Trump cites “300,000” US deaths from drugs while pressuring Mexico and Colombia.