Venezuela Shock: '2027' Likely Pushed Back as China Fails To Protect Maduro
Beijing has expressed shock and condemnation following the US raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Operation “Absolute Resolve” involved more than 150 aircraft, US Special Forces, drones and cyber operations. Many international observers — including Chinese netizens — were quick to draw parallels to the Taiwan Strait, suggesting that Trump’s actions gave a green light to Chinese President Xi Jinping to seize Taiwan. But how similar are these two situations? The US attack also comes after the Washington Post reported that Maduro made requests to China, Russia and Iran for military equipment. How far did Beijing’s security ties to Caracas go? And is it actually Xi’s Communist regime, rather than Taiwan’s democratically elected government, who should be more worried by the ousting of an unpopular socialist dictator in Latin America? In this episode, we discuss the US actions in Venezuela, the Beijing-Caracas relationship, and what it means for the Taiwan Strait. *Recorded on January 5, 2026 at 3pm Taiwan Standard Time Host/Senior Producer: Yin Khvat Our guests: Michael Turton -Taipei Times Columnist Guermantes Lailari -US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Ronan Fu -Academia Sinica Institute of Political Science Assistant Research Fellow
