Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Aamna Mohdin

Monday briefing: Why the US moved to oust Venezuela’s president

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and US President Donald Trump.
Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, has been taken into custody by US president Donald Trump. Composite: Getty Images

Good morning. Over the weekend, the US attacked Venezuela with a series of airstrikes and captured the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, along with his wife, Cilia Flores, seizing them from their bedrooms and flying them to New York on Saturday evening. Donald Trump announced that the US would “run” Venezuela for an unspecified period.

Perhaps most striking was how explicit Trump was about the reasoning behind the military action. He said the aim was for US companies to take control of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure for their own benefit. “We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we’re going to be very much involved in it,” Trump said.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.