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Experts: U.S. captures Venezuela’s president

Maps of US and Venezuela
Published: 5 January 2026

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured by U.S. special forces last week and are to appear in a U.S. court today on charges related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has coined the term “Donroe Doctrine,” after the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine setting out U.S. dominance of the Western Hemisphere and has threatened the government of Colombia.

These Թ experts are available to comment on this topic:

Manual Balan, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science,Institutefor the Study of International Development,hasexpertisein Latin American politics,corruption,elections,governanceand publicpolicy.
Manuel.balan [at] mcgill.ca(English, French, Portuguese, Spanish)

Jacob Blanc, Associate Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies and Institute for the Study of International Development, has expertise as a historian of Latin America with a specialty in U.S.-Latin American relations and interventions.
jacob.blanc [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Juan Pablo Luna,Professor and Diamond-BrownChairin Democratic Studies, Department of Political Science,hasexpertiseinLatin American politics, includinghowthe dynamics oforganized crimearecontributing to reshapingpolitics, states,and markets in Latin America.
juan.luna [at] mcgill.ca(English, Spanish)

Frédéric Mégret, Professor, William Dawson Scholar, Faculty of Law, Co-director, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, can discuss the use of force to capture President Maduro, the charges against him and the expected trial.
Frederic.megret [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

Noah Weisbord, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, can speak about international criminal law; whether the U.S. operation is legal under both international and U.S. law; the Monroe Doctrine and the history of U.S. military intervention in Latin America.
noah.weisbord [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)

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