The President's Daily Brief
January 8th, 2026: Trump’s Endgame in Venezuela: Forcing Out China, Russia, and Iran & Iranian Protesters Make A Dramatic Plea
08 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the Trump administration's endgame in Venezuela?
It's Thursday, the 8th of January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And yes, I am indeed back on the road. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the Trump administration's endgame in Venezuela is coming into focus as Washington moves to push rival powers out of the country and reassert U.S.
influence over Caracas' security services and oil sector. Later in the show, dramatic scenes out of Iran, where protesters have reportedly renamed a street after President Trump. And no, I'm not making this up. And they've also issued a stark plea as security forces move to suppress nationwide demonstrations.
Plus, new developments in Ukraine peace talks, as Kyiv points to what it calls concrete progress on security guarantees during high-level meetings in Paris. And in today's Back of the Brief, well, look at that. Greenland is back on the White House's agenda, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling lawmakers that President Trump wants to purchase the Arctic Territory.
But first, today's PDB Spotlight. The Trump administration's ultimate goal in Venezuela is coming into sharper focus today, and of course it goes well beyond the removal of Nicolas Maduro. In the days since Caracas began transitioning away from Maduro's rule, Washington has moved quickly to try and define what comes next. And according to new reporting, the message from the White House is this.
Venezuela's future hinges on pushing rival powers out of the country and realigning its political and security and energy relationships squarely in the U.S. camp. U.S. officials are now pressing Venezuela's interim government to remove suspected intelligence officers, security advisors, and other non-diplomatic operatives tied to China and Russia, Iran and Cuba.
This does not include standard diplomatic personnel or embassy staff. The focus is narrowly on intelligence and security personnel, who became deeply embedded inside Venezuela during the Maduro years.
It's a targeted effort to dismantle foreign influence inside Venezuela's security services and military structures and internal intelligence apparatus, networks that Washington believes gave rival powers long-term leverage in the Western Hemisphere. Of course, and here comes a statement of the obvious, this all is easier said than done.
As we've reported here on the PDB, Venezuela's government and security institutions were deeply intertwined with foreign personnel, particularly Cuban officers and intelligence specialists, long before Maduro's ouster. During the U.S. operation to remove Maduro, the Cuban government confirmed that 32 Cuban military and police personnel were killed in the operation to seize him.
These officers were serving at Venezuela's request and highlight the extent to which Cuban security and intelligence elements were integrated into Venezuela's domestic security apparatus. And the pressure campaign from the White House doesn't stop at security. The administration is also tying Venezuela's economic recovery, specifically its oil industry, to those same conditions.
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Chapter 2: How are Iranian protesters appealing to President Trump?
Those conditions, well, they're designed to reduce rival access, limit intelligence penetration, and lock in a US-centered framework for Venezuela's recovery. This approach reflects a broader strategic calculation. From Washington's perspective, Venezuela is not just a post-Maduro transition problem. It's a test case in great power competition inside the Western Hemisphere.
Removing entrenched security influences from China, Russia, Iran and Cuba sends a message well beyond Caracas, one that reinforces U.S. expectations about foreign military and intelligence activity in the region. It also marks a shift in how pressure is applied.
Rather than relying solely on sanctions or diplomatic isolation, the administration is combining security demands with economic incentives, access to markets, investment, and energy cooperation to shape outcomes. So what should we be watching for next?
Well, first, whether Venezuela's interim authorities begin taking concrete steps to remove foreign intelligence and security personnel tied to those rival nations. That will be the clearest signal of how much influence Washington currently holds. Second, watch the oil flows. Any noticeable shift in export destinations, new contracts, or U.S.
company involvement will offer early indicators of whether Caracas is moving forward with this framework that's being outlined. And finally, when it comes to Beijing and Moscow, Tehran and Havana, pay attention to actions, not statements. Public responses may be predictable, but practical adjustments, economic or diplomatic, will be far more telling.
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Chapter 3: What recent developments are there in Ukraine peace talks?
The takeaway here is relatively straightforward. From the Trump administration's perspective, this is all about shaping the future of Venezuela by reducing rival power presences, reasserting U.S. influence, and using security and energy leverage to lock in a strategic realignment, one that Washington hopes will endure long after the immediate crisis fades.
All right, coming up next, Iranian protesters make a direct appeal to President Trump as the regime tightens its grip, while Ukraine points to concrete movement on security guarantees in high-level talks with U.S. and EU allies in Paris. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, it is a new year. Yes, I suppose you already knew that. And maybe, maybe it's time for a fresh start, right?
That's kind of what a new year is all about.
Chapter 4: What is the significance of Greenland in U.S. foreign policy?
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Chapter 5: How does the U.S. plan to reshape Venezuela's oil industry?
As Iran's nationwide protests intensify, the demonstrators aren't just chanting against the regime. They're now openly appealing to President Trump. In footage posted online as an example, one protester in Tehran can be seen renaming a street after Trump, placing signs and stickers over existing street posts.
Other videos posted on social media show handwritten messages to Trump and the world that are even more direct, reading, quote, Don't let them kill us. Clearly, this isn't subtle messaging.
It's a protest movement deliberately reaching beyond their country's borders and addressing a foreign leader that the protesters believe could influence the actions of the mullahs and the Revolutionary Guard Corps. That matters, especially when placed alongside what Trump said days earlier. The president sent a warning to the mullahs on Truth Social that the U.S.
would intervene if authorities, quote, shoot and violently kill peaceful protesters. Since then, analysts tracking the demonstrations say his comments have circulated rapidly inside Iran, and more footage has emerged of protesters invoking President Trump's name directly. That appeal is unfolding as Iranian authorities become increasingly aggressive in dealing with the protests.
Armed units have been deployed near sensitive civilian locations in Tehran, and tear gas has been used in and around hospitals, shopping centers, and major transit hubs. According to the anti-regime news outlet Iran International, the unrest has continued across the capital, with Tehran's Grand Bazaar emerging as a focal point.
Exiled Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi has framed the unrest as something far more consequential than just another protest cycle. Speaking on Fox News, he described the moment as a rare opening to dismantle the Islamic Republic, arguing that the scale and persistence of demonstrations point to a regime facing a deeper legitimacy crisis.
Pahlavi emphasized that the protests show the growing involvement of Iran's traditional marching class, calling developments inside the bazaars a cultural turning point. He also claims defections are increasing, insisting that, regardless of how events ultimately unfold, the regime is, quote, very close to collapsing.
Now, whether or not that assessment proves accurate, the span of participation marks a departure from the more isolated protests in the past. And that growing challenge has increasingly spilled into open confrontation with the regime, as protests expand to more than 300 locations across now 28 of Iran's 31 provinces.
New footage shows protesters lighting fires in the streets of heavily populated cities like Shiraz while chanting, quote, death to Khamenei, a direct challenge to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In other cities, demonstrators urge police to defect, chanting, quote, law enforcement, return to the side of the nation. The cost of that escalation is now becoming clearer.
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