Though former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is in custody in New York following President Donald Trump’s operation to detain him, his loyal cronies remain in Venezuela where they are plotting their next move to ensure the regime’s continuity. Trump has threatened to conduct a second “much larger attack if we need to do so,” but it hasn’t stopped Maduro’s inner circle from issuing defiant statements. These are the cronies the world’s attention will be on as the future of Venezuela is determined. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a press conference in Caracas on September 8, 2025. (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images) Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodriguez condemned the capture of Maduro on Saturday and called for his release. She pushed back on Trump’s assertion that the United States would “run the country,” claiming that “the Venezuelan people and the country know very clearly, we will never return to being slaves.” Though she responded in a televised address on state television, her location is unknown. According to Trump, when she spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, she took a different tone. “We’ll do whatever you need,” Trump says she told Rubio.  Trump also said that Rodriguez was sworn in as president, though the Venezuelan government has not said so publicly. Rodriguez, 56, has been such a staunch ally of Maduro and supporter of his socialist government, that the former dictator has called her a “tiger.” She is the daughter of the left-wing guerrilla fighter Jorge Antonio Rodriguez who founded the Liga Socialista party in the 1970s. An attorney by trade, she is also the Minister of Petroleum and has had several roles in the Venezuelan government including President of the Constituent Assembly, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information. In 2018, she was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the European Union for being a member of Maduro’s inner circle and undermining democracy. She responded by saying sanctions against her were driven by “racist” and “warmongering” policies of the “old imperial world,” the Associated Press reported at the time.  She was named vice president in 2018 by Maduro, who described her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles.” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello Venezuela’s Minister of Interior Relations, Justice, and Peace, Diosdado Cabello, gestures as he speaks during a press conference of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in Caracas, on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP via Getty Images) Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello is considered one of the most powerful men in Venezuela and one of the most feared members of Maduro’s inner circle. He appeared on television following the U.S. attack in a bulletproof vest and tactical helmet to urge citizens to remain calm in the wake of the attack that he said was carried out by the “criminal and terrorist” United States. “Remain calm, let no one fall into despair, let no one make things easier for the invading enemy, the terrorist enemy that cowardly attacked us; let no one facilitate their actions,” Cabello said. He also called upon international organizations to condemn the attack and said that the United States only achieved part of its objective, crediting the Venezuelan people for not respond “recklessly.” “You, the world organizations, the international bodies, are you going to publicly acknowledge your complicity in the invading attack, in the murder of civilians, with bombs falling on buildings, in places inhabited by civilians? Are the international organizations going to be complicit in this massacre?” he said. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2018 for exploiting his various powerful government positions over the years to engage in extensive corruption, including narcotics trafficking, money laundering, embezzlement of state funds, and other illicit activities that enriched him at the expense of the Venezuelan people. Cabello, 63, is a former army lieutenant who had close ties to former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the socialist leader who centralized power and laid the groundwork for Venezuela’s authoritarian rule and economic collapse. He has previously served as Minister of Public Works and Housing, Minister of the Interior and Justice, Minister of Infrastructure, Director of the Venezuelan National Telecommunications Commission, and Governor of the state of Miranda. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez speaks during a training session of the Bolivarian National Militia in Caracas on October 4, 2025. (Photo by PEDRO MATTEY/AFP via Getty Images) Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez responded to the attack by declaring in a recorded video that Venezuela will resist the presence of foreign troops.  “This invasion represents the greatest outrage the country has ever suffered,” Padrino Lopez said. “They have attacked us but they will not vanquish us … we will form an indestructible wall of resistance. Our vocation is peace, but our heritage is the fight for freedom.” Padrino Lopez, 43, labeled the attack “criminal military aggression by the government of the United States of North America.” A four-star general, Padrino Lopez wields enormous power. He has had a long career in Venezuela’s military serving in a multitude of military posts, including strategic commander and chief of the general staff of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces. Padrino Lopez was also hit by the 2018 U.S. Treasury sanctions for his ties to Maduro. Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Assembly Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez speaks during an extraordinary session at the National Assembly in Caracas on December 23, 2025. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP via Getty Images) Jorge Rodriguez, who is the brother of Delcy and the president of the National Assembly, has yet to make public statements or appearances since Maduro was removed from power. He is reportedly in Caracas. As one of Maduro’s closest political operators, 61-year-old Rodriguez has been a key strategist and figure in ensuring Maduro remained in power. Both he and his sister have strong ties to the economic elite who they helped build up. He was also sanctioned in 2018 for his ties to Maduro and role in undermining democracy. His previous positions include minister of popular power for communication and information and vice president of Venezuela

For those who accuse the Trump administration of expansionist ambitions because of the attack on Venezuela that achieved the extradition of the tyrannical dictator and faux president Nicolás Maduro, it would be instructive to remember who the real expansionist was: Maduro. Maduro had designs on the Essequibo region — an oil-resource-rich territory in Guyana — which comprises two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. Despite a long-standing status quo, Maduro had laid claim to the region following the discovery of massive offshore oil deposits by an ExxonMobil-led consortium. "Trump's capture of Maduro is IMPERIALISM! How dare he!" Maduro tried to annex something like 3/4s of the neighboring country of Guyana just last year because oil was discovered offshore. But please tell me more about the horrors of imperialism pic.twitter.com/aGSkOscmc9 — Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) January 4, 2026 In 2023, Maduro accused Guyana’s president Irfaan Ali of “hypocrisy and false victimization,” adding, “President Irfaan Ali, enough of lies and of trying to hide the historical truth that weighs on the dispute over the Essequibo territory, whose only means of resolution, as you well know, is the Geneva Agreement of 1966. The steps your government is taking violate international legality and jeopardize peace in the region.” That was a lie; the 1966 Geneva Agreement stated that if Venezuela and Guyana did not resolve the issue, “they shall refer the decision as to the means of settlement to an appropriate international organ upon which they both agree or, failing agreement on this point, to the secretary-general of the United Nations.” Guyana did exactly that, as the Voice of America reported. Maduro’s strategy included referendums and legislative moves aimed at the “defense” of Essequibo, which international bodies like the OAS and CARICOM labeled illegal and a “crime of aggression.” In addition, Venezuelan naval vessels entered disputed waters near ExxonMobil’s operations. In response to these expansionist moves, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued explicit, high-stakes warnings to the Venezuelan “narco-trafficking regime.” In March 2025, on a Caribbean tour to strengthen ties and promote energy independence, he stated that aggressive action by Venezuela “would be a very bad day for Venezuela,” emphasizing consequences for “adventurism” and aggression. Rubio’s strategy included: Military Cooperation: Signing security agreements to enhance intelligence sharing and conducting joint naval exercises between the U.S. Navy and Guyana. Economic Pressure: Implementing severe sanctions and tariffs on countries that imported Venezuelan oil, aiming to dismantle the regime’s financial lifeblood. Strategic Alliances: Promoting Guyana as a key partner to wean the Caribbean off Venezuelan energy, effectively neutralizing Maduro’s regional influence. Meanwhile, Maduro’s then-vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, maintained that Venezuela would never cede its claim.

The source of the leak was not made public

'This was a bold and audacious move'

Young American college graduates are getting a raw deal. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates, aged 20 to 24 years, reached 9.3% in August 2025, according to Forbes. For comparison, older college graduates, aged 25 to 34, had an unemployment rate of 3.6%, and high school graduates had a rate of 4.3%. Why? Business analysts point to “structural issues” in the economy or to artificial intelligence (AI) taking over jobs. But they don’t mention the competition American college students and recent graduates face from foreign students and graduates in America. This foreign competition is enabled by a creation of the administrative state known as Optional Practical Training (OPT). It is past time for Congress to end this program. OPT was created in 1992 by an administrative rule. It originally allowed a foreign student to work for one year after graduation from a U.S. college in the student’s major area of study. But like all immigration benefits, OPT was eventually expanded and extended to nearly four years, moves again made by the administrative state. Foreign students with an “F” visa can receive up to 12 months of OPT employment authorization before or after completing their academic studies. If a foreign student earns a degree in over 220 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study, he can also apply for a 24-month extension of his OPT employment authorization, for a total of three years. This long list of degrees includes questionable “STEM” entries, however. Examples include archaeology; quality control technology/technician; welding engineering technology/technician; automotive engineering technology/technician; engineering-related fields/other; management science; and business statistics. Many of these fields of study are vague, broad, and include business, liberal arts, and trade studies rather than STEM. Our universities produce plenty of American graduates in business and liberal arts, so why are foreign students in so many categories of studies allowed to work in the U.S. following graduation? Two reasons: employers get a tax break for foreign OPT grads, and OPT acts as an immigration bridge that allows aliens to stay in the U.S. between college and obtaining employment-based visas. In other words, OPT benefits employers and aliens, not American college students, graduates, or employees. “F” student visa holders, including OPT graduates, are considered nonresident aliens for their first five calendar years in the U.S. During this period, their wages are exempt from Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes for both the employee (7.65%) and the employer (7.65%), for a combined savings of 15.3% for the foreign student/employee and the employer. This is a clear financial incentive for employers to hire foreign graduates over American graduates. The solution to this disadvantage for American students and graduates is not to end the tax exemption. Rather, the solution is for Congress to end the administrative immigration benefit of OPT and all its variants. The OPT programs have become just another vehicle for more permanent immigration to the U.S. under the guise of being “temporary.” OPT is the piece in the pipeline that gets an alien from temporary student status to an H-1B or other “temporary” visa category, followed by a permanent visa, also known as a green card. To obtain a temporary “F” student visa, however, the visa applicant swears to the U.S. government that the alien is returning home after completion of studies. Over the past several decades, however, foreign student applicants have developed an unfounded expectation to remain in the U.S. after graduation, and “F” visa holders are typically the highest visa overstay violators among temporary visa categories, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Other benefits given to foreign students that facilitate their extended or permanent stay in the U.S. include a 60-day grace period to prepare their departure from the U.S. Really, this buys an alien more time in the U.S. to pursue a change of status to another visa category. Furthermore, OPT aliens are allowed to be unemployed for up to 90 days during their initial OPT period and an additional 60 days during their 24-month OPT extension. These numerous administrative creations and add-ons all benefit the alien, not U.S. students, graduates, employees, or the American taxpayer. It is past time for Congress to terminate this runaway immigration path and to re-exert its constitutional authority over immigration benefits, including work authorization. Temporary means temporary. Foreign students should return home when they graduate. If employers seek to employ them after graduation, they should use the available employment-based visas, for which aliens can apply at a U.S. consulate. Congress needs to prioritize American students, graduates, and employees, all of whom face real issues of labor disruption from AI. They don’t need the added, self-inflicted, statutorily unauthorized competition from foreign students who committed to our government that they would go home after receiving the generous opportunity to study in the U.S. Copyright © 2026 The Washington Times, LLC.  The post Congress Should Prioritize American Graduates, Not Foreigners Who Promised to Go Home appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote from a prison cell, “It is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith.” He wrote those words after the world had closed in, when faith could no longer remain theoretical.I live with someone who understands exactly what he meant.In those moments, belief stops being a feeling and becomes a claim. Not something you summon, but something you test.My wife, Gracie, has lived with disabilities for virtually her entire life. Hospital rooms and operating schedules do not interrupt our life — they form its familiar terrain. Over time, suffering has stopped being a concept and become a place we recognize.I also have a friend who understands what Bonhoeffer was describing.Her name is Joni Eareckson Tada. A diving accident in her teens left her a quadriplegic. Her life has unfolded under paralysis, chronic pain, and illness. She does not approach suffering from a distance.Last year, during one of Gracie’s long hospital stays, Joni called.Most people asked about Gracie. Joni did too. But then she asked about me.That question deserved more than a stock reply.I paused.Moments like that strip away emotional self-examination and force you to examine your claims instead.As I spoke with Joni, I shared something that has steadied me for decades.In our church, there came a moment when the pastor would stop, look out over the congregation, and ask a single question: “Christian, what do you believe?”We did not improvise. We did not search for language that felt expressive or current. We stood and recited the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed. No personal spin. No tailoring belief to the moment. Just a clear declaration of what had been received.That question stayed with me.It returned again and again over the years, especially in places where explanations had lost their usefulness. I learned the limits of “why.” Even good answers rarely hold steady there.In those moments, belief stops being a feeling and becomes a claim. Not something you summon, but something you test.If Christ is who I say He is, then what does that require of me here?I was not trying to manufacture courage or resolve. I was asking whether the faith I professed in calm settings could bear weight when standing itself cost something.“Christian, what do you believe?”Over time, many of the questions I once carried narrowed to that one. Not because the pain diminished or the losses stopped coming, but because belief, when real, clarifies responsibility.The apostle Peter tells believers to be ready to give an answer for the hope within them. That readiness has nothing to do with eloquence. It comes from knowing where you stand.As a new year begins, many caregivers feel little sense of reset, except for the deductible and the co-pay.Some stand outside an ICU, looking through glass at someone they love. Others stand in different hallways, facing different kinds of loss. Different rooms. The same ache.RELATED: Do not pass the plow: The danger of declaring a golden age without repentance John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesBonhoeffer did not write from a place of safety or control. He wrote from confinement, where faith could no longer remain theoretical. Many recognize that narrowing, the sense that life has closed in and the ground beneath you has given way.Faith is learned there, not discussed.Exhaustion thins memory. Words scatter. Not everyone can recall creeds when sleep runs short and decisions carry real weight. But belief does not measure itself by recall. It reveals itself by posture.When the floor gives way, you still need to know where to stand.If He is Lord at all, then He is Lord of all.Not only of sanctuaries, but of hospital corridors.Not only of strength, but of weakness.Not only of moments we would choose, but of moments we would never script.That confession does not remove pain. It does not explain every loss. But it does tell us where to stand when the world presses in.And when glass separates you from the one you love, whatever room that glass happens to be in, the question does not stay abstract.It turns personal.Christian, what do you believe?

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