event

The Trump Administration and Venezuela: What Now? 

Thu. January 8th, 202610:00 AM - 11:00 AM (EST)
Live Online

The decision by the U.S. President Donald Trump administration to seize Venezuelan President Nicholás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to stand trial in the United States reflects the administration’s willingness to undertake a muscular intervention in the Western Hemisphere. Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, has taken over as the interim president and seems to be on an uncertain path forward working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. However, Trump’s statement that the United States plans to “run” Venezuela until a permanent, stable transition can be realized raises more questions than it answers, in Venezuela and about U.S. foreign policy at large.  

What precisely are the Trump administration’s objectives in Venezuela? Was this a law enforcement operation or a serious effort to create a new political reality in Venezuela? Who are the key Venezuelan players the United States needs to engage and what is the role of the Venezuelan military? And what are the administration’s intentions toward the Venezuelan oil industry and the role of American companies? 

Join Aaron David Miller as he engages the International Crisis Group’s Phil Gunson, the Baker Institute’s Francisco Monaldi, and Johns Hopkins SAIS’s Cindy Arnson on these and other issues, on the next Carnegie Connects. 

MilitarySecurityEnergyDefenseForeign PolicyVenezuelaUnited StatesSouth America
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Cynthia Arnson

Adjunct Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University School Of Advanced International Studies

Dr. Cynthia J. Arnson is an adjunct lecturer at Johns Hopkins University School Of Advanced International Studies and a former distinguished fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former director of its Latin American Program, a position she held for 16 years.  She is a widely recognized expert on Latin American politics, political economy, and international relations, including U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere.  She is quoted frequently in major U.S. and Latin American media and has testified on multiple occasions before committees of the U.S. Congress.

Aaron David Miller

Senior Fellow, American Statecraft Program

Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.

Phil Gunson

Senior Analyst, Andes Region, Crisis Group

Phil Gunson has been Crisis Group’s senior analyst for the Andes region since 2015. He researches and produces Crisis Group policy materials and conducts advocacy, focusing primarily on the political situation in Venezuela.

Francisco Monaldi

Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Latin American Energy Policy and Director of the Latin America Energy Program, Center for Energy Studies, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy

Francisco J. Monaldi, Ph.D., is the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Latin American Energy Policy and director of the Latin America Energy Program at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. He is also a fellow at the Claudio X. González Center for the United States and Mexico, a lecturer in energy economics at Rice University’s Department of Economics, and a lecturer in energy management at the Jones Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the International Faculty at IESA School of Management in Venezuela and Panama, where he was a professor and the founding director of the Center for Energy and the Environment. He is a nonresident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.