NPR News: 01-03-2026 8PM EST
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What new indictment was unsealed against Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herst. Venezuela's ousted president Nicholas Maduro is apparently in New York, according to video from CNN, after US forces captured him and his wife in Caracas overnight. They face drug trafficking and weapon charges in New York, and Pierre's Ryan Lucas reports.
A new indictment unsealed in New York charges Nicolas Maduro with narco terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and other charges. His wife, Celia Flores, is also charged. The indictment says that Maduro presided over a vast conspiracy over the past twenty five years to flood the US with cocaine. Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials allegedly partnered with drug cartels, providing law enforcement cover and logistical support to ship tons of cocaine to the United States. Prosecutors say the alleged scheme enriched Maduro and his co-conspirators while thoroughly corrupting Venezuela's public institutions. This follows an earlier indictment against Maduro that was announced by the Justice Department during President Trump's first term in office.
Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
US officials ran war games on what a post Maduro Venezuela would look like in the first Trump administration. And Pierce Frank Langfit has more.
Douglas Fara, a national security consultant, worked on the war games, which looked at several scenarios.
How did U.S. officials envision a post‑Maduro Venezuela in the war‑games scenario?
Conclusion of everyone was that unless you had some sort of managed transition from the regime to a democratic or some semi-functional democratic system, uh you would have absolute chaos for a long period of time.
Farris said that's because there's a risk of a power vacuum that various armed groups would swiftly move to fill. President Trump says the US will run Venezuela for now and seemed to dismiss Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Carina Machado as a future leader, saying she doesn't have the support or respect of her country. Frank Langford NPR News, Washington.
There's mixed reaction from around the world to the US strike on Venezuela. As MPR's Jackie Northam reports, many nations expressed concerns about the action but didn't outwardly condemn President Trump. The UN Security Council is holding a meeting Monday, called for by Venezuela, China, Russia and Colombia.
There was muted reaction in Europe to the situation in Venezuela. German Chancellor Friedrich Meritz said Berlin was assessing the complex legalities surrounding the U.S. intervention. So too with British Prime Minister Kirstarmer. France's foreign minister said the U.S. operation violated international law. But later, President Emmanuel Macron applauded Maduro's capture. Mexican President Claudio Scheinbaum struck. Strongly condemned the military intervention, as did Honduran president Siamara Castro. China slammed what it called the brazen use of force, and Russia, a strategic ally of Venezuela, also harshly criticized the strike and the capture of Maduro.
What are the global reactions to the U.S. strike and capture of Maduro?
Jackie Northam, NPR News. You're listening to NPR
News from Washington. The World Health Organization says Brazil has eliminated mother to child HIV transmission. WHO certified nineteen countries and territories where almost every child is born HI free HIV free, even if the mothers have the virus. Brazil is the first country of more than one hundred million people to achieve that milestone. Their success is in large part due to the country's universal and free health care. In the US, HIV to mother child transmission rates are less than one percent of kids born to HIV positive mothers. But it has yet to receive the WHO certification. A new study finds the number of movies directed by women has been dropping over the past few years and peers Netta Ulubi has more.
In 2025, the number of movies directed by women represented only 8% of the top 100 films at the box office.
How did Brazil achieve WHO certification for eliminating mother‑to‑child HIV transmission?
The most financially successful in 2025 was a horror movie, Five Nights at Freddy's Two. Directed by Emma Tammy, it made more than $200 million worldwide. But the number of movies made by women has decreased over the past few years.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What new indictment was unsealed against Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro?
0:00–1:18
2
How did U.S. officials envision a post‑Maduro Venezuela in the war‑games scenario?
1:18–2:52
3
What are the global reactions to the U.S. strike and capture of Maduro?
2:52–3:53
4
How did Brazil achieve WHO certification for eliminating mother‑to‑child HIV transmission?
3:53–4:14
5
Why has the percentage of top‑grossing films directed by women declined in recent years?
4:14–4:38