The United States’ seizure of Venezuela’s president reshapes the Western Hemisphere and sends immediate shockwaves through global security calculations. This episode starts with the Maduro operation—its execution, legal fallout, regional reactions, and energy implications—before tracking spillover pressures across the Americas. We then cover Iran’s expanding protest wave and its shift toward regime-change dynamics, followed by North Korea’s missile and hypersonic tests framed as responses to global instability. We close with China’s diplomatic posture and Russia’s constrained reaction as the war in Ukraine grinds on, including emerging drone adaptations on the battlefield.

1. https://interestingengineering.com/military/shahed-drone-with-shoulder-fired-missile
2. https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/03/asia/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missiles-intl-hnk
3. https://www.twz.com/air/rq-170-sentinel-stealth-drone-supported-maduro-capture-mission
4. https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-january-4-2026/
5. https://understandingwar.org/research/middle-east/iran-protests-january-4-2026/
6. https://www.dw.com/en/trump-threatens-iran-as-more-protest-deaths-reported/a-75388284
7. https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-greenland-cuba-571aac35e259857fd512c46f5af11e4d
8. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/05/russia-weighs-up-fall-of-nicolas-maduro-venezuela
9. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-it-cannot-accept-countries-acting-world-judge-after-us-captures-2026-01-05/
10. https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2026/01/us-spy-agencies-contributed-operation-captured-maduro/410437/
11. https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/05/iran-protests-islamic-republic-regime-change/
12. https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/03/the-downside-of-trumps-venezuela-op/
13. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/04/few-in-caracas-are-celebrating-as-they-face-an-uncertain-post-maduro-future
14. https://www.businessinsider.com/big-short-michael-burry-us-venezuela-maduro-oil-energy-china-2026-1
15. https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2026/0104/1551369-venezuela-us-maduro/

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