President Donald Trump warned that Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez could face consequences if she doesn’t “do what’s right” after the United States captured and extracted Nicolás Maduro.
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| “Except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power.” |
— René Descartes, "Discourse on the Method" |
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President Donald Trump warned that Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez could face consequences if she doesn’t “do what’s right” after the United States captured and extracted Nicolás Maduro.
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The Pentagon will maintain its military blockade around Venezuela to apply leverage to the country’s socialist regime, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
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Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted last month on a federal felony charge for helping an illegal immigrant evade federal agents, said that she was resigning as a judge.
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What started as a reaction to economic distress amid sanctions and the tanking of the Iranian rial has turned into mass demonstrations against the ruling regime in Tehran, with calls for the overthrow of the government of the Islamic Republic. Here are five things to know about the widespread unrest in Iran.
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🍵 Health: Fifteen years ago, Shen Lan-ting received a devastating diagnosis: advanced colorectal cancer, with only three months to live. Instead of succumbing to despair, she embraced a radically positive mindset. This is her story.
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| Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor (Email) |
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Good morning! It’s Monday. Thank you for reading the Morning Brief, an exclusive newsletter for Epoch Times subscribers. |
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor takes off from José Aponte de la Torre Airport, formerly Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 4, 2026. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images) |
The Pentagon will maintain its military blockade around Venezuela to apply leverage to the country’s socialist regime, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president and oil minister under Venezuelan socialist leader Nicolás Maduro, is serving as the country’s new president following Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces.
Rubio told CBS News on Sunday that the United States is keeping an oil “quarantine” or blockade in place around Venezuela’s coasts, pointing to the export as being a key source of revenue for the regime.
“There’s a quarantine right now in which sanctioned oil shipments—there’s a boat, and that boat is under US sanctions—we go get a court order, we will seize it,” Rubio said. “That remains in place, and that’s a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela.” Rubio said that’s what U.S. President Donald Trump was referring to when he said on Saturday that the United States will not rule out further military options, including “boots on the ground,” until the Venezuelan regime meets Washington’s demands.
The U.S. secretary of state did not elaborate on Trump’s comments on Saturday about the United States running Venezuela in the interim, but said the Pentagon will continue with its military quarantine and naval and “force posture” in the Caribbean moving forward.
Trump said the United States would work with Rodríguez and the interim regime. Trump said Rodríguez spoke to Rubio on the phone, adding that Rodríguez told him, “We’ll do whatever you need.” “I think she was quite gracious,” Trump said. “We can’t take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind.” Asked about the phone call, Rubio did not reveal what the two discussed, but said the United States’ interests regarding Venezuela and the nation’s impacts on America’s national security “have not changed.”
“We want drug trafficking to stop. We want no more gang members to come our way. We don’t want to see the Iranian and, by the way, Cuban presence in the past,” Rubio said, adding that Venezuela’s oil interests need to benefit its people instead of “pirates and adversaries of the United States.”
“We want to see all of that happen. We insist on seeing that happen,” he said. (More) More Politics: |
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Top officials from the Venezuelan regime adopted a defiant tone and asserted that Maduro was still the nation’s one and only president.
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Rubio said that the United States will not tolerate a country in the Western Hemisphere becoming a hub for the activities of America’s global adversaries, such as China, Iran, and Russia.
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As Venezuelans around the world celebrate the removal of the authoritarian leader, some analysts have warned that the roots of “Chavismo”—a political ideology named after former President Hugo Chavez—run deep in Venezuela, and that much of the infrastructure supporting it remains in place.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he expects the Senate to vote on whether to formally authorize the U.S. military’s actions in Venezuela that led to the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.
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A significant portion of Maduro’s security team was killed in the U.S. operation that led to the capture of the socialist leader.
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Elon Musk’s Starlink will offer free satellite internet service in Venezuela for nearly a month.
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FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino officially stepped down from his position at the bureau on Jan. 3, hours after President Trump confirmed Maduro’s capture. Bongino, responding to a post on X in which he praised the capture of Maduro, said, “It was a busy last day on the job.”
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Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, charged with obstructing the arrest of an illegal immigrant, leaves after appearing in court in Milwaukee, Wis., on May 15, 2025. (Jim Vondruska/File Photo/Reuters) |
Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted last month on a federal felony charge for helping an illegal immigrant evade federal agents, said that she was resigning as a judge. Federal prosecutors said Dugan had distracted federal agents who were trying to arrest Mexican citizen Eduardo Flores-Ruiz outside her courtroom and directed the man out via a private door.
Flores-Ruiz had reentered the United States illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state-level battery case. Dugan was charged after the Trump administration relaxed restrictions on immigration enforcement operations at local courthouses as part of its drive to deport millions of illegal immigrants residing in the United States. A federal jury found Dugan guilty on Dec. 18 2025 of one felony count of violating Section 1505 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code.
Republican members of the Wisconsin State Legislature had been preparing to impeach Dugan and remove her from office since her conviction. Dugan is an elected judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. (More)
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Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP) |
What initially started as a reaction to economic distress amid sanctions and the tanking of the Iranian rial has turned into mass demonstrations against the ruling regime in Tehran, with calls for the overthrow of the government of the Islamic Republic.
In the span of about a week, the protests evolved into one of the longest and most persistent episodes of unrest Iran has seen in recent months, according to rights monitors.
At least 119 people have been arrested, while at least eight individuals have been killed and 33 others injured since demonstrations began, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, which says protests have spread to at least 32 cities across multiple provinces.
Here’s what we know about the widespread unrest.
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Currency Drop: The immediate trigger for the unrest was a sharp decline in the value of Iran’s foreign exchange market. In late December 2025, the U.S. dollar climbed on the open market from below 1 million rials to about 1.45 million rials, fueling inflation, unsettling markets, and deepening cost-of-living pressures for Iranians. Merchants in Tehran’s historic bazaar, which is often seen as a sign of economic confidence, said they struggled to set prices from one morning to the next, as currency swings made sales risky. In several cities, shops closed, and strikes spread along with street protests, attracting students, workers, and small business owners.
- Government Response: Even though the mood on the streets has changed, the government has so far framed the situation as an economic issue. Authorities have replaced some top financial officials and promised policy changes.
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Turning Point: Some analysts link the economic crisis fueling the protests to recent regional and international developments. Arya Kangarloo, a political commentator, said Iran’s 12-day conflict with Israel in June marked a turning point in the Islamic Republic’s projection of power. Kangarloo said the conflict exposed what he described as the collapse of the regime’s core strategic tools. (More)
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News of the U.S. raid and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been allowed to circulate widely in China, triggering intense discussion and emotional reactions among Chinese netizens, according to interviews conducted by The Epoch Times.
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A monument to commemorate the local Chinese community’s contributions to Panama in the 19th century was removed on Dec. 27, 2025. The Chinese regime, which only established diplomatic relations with Panama in 2017, responded strongly, amid its efforts to challenge the United States’ influence over the key route for international maritime traffic.
- OPEC+ said on Sunday that it would keep oil output consistent, maintaining a decision that eight members agreed to in November 2025 to pause increases in oil production throughout January, February, and March.
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People celebrate the news of the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. military, in Doral, Fla., on Jan. 3, 2026. (Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images) |
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(Illustration by The Epoch Times/Shutterstock) |
At just 29, Shen Lan-ting received a devastating diagnosis: advanced colorectal cancer, with only three months to live. Instead of succumbing to despair, she embraced a radically positive mindset. “No matter how little time I have left, I will greet each day with joy and gratitude,” she said.
Three months later, her inoperable 10-centimeter tumor had shrunk to 2 centimeters. Fifteen years on, she lives a vibrant, healthy life—the cancer is gone. The Taiwanese woman who triumphantly overcame cancer, Shen—a former president of the Taoyuan Junior Chamber International for Women—shared her story with The Epoch Times. In February 2010, she was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer that had spread from the colon to the peritoneum, the thin membrane that lines the abdominal cavity and covers many internal organs. Doctors declared the tumor inoperable.
“The doctor told me the survival rate with targeted therapy was likely less than 10 percent, and the chance of living five years was just one in ten thousand,” she recalled. Terrified, she said, “I basically cried every day.”
Yet this trial sparked a profound realization: birth, aging, illness, and death are inevitable for us all. “Live fully in the present each day,” she said, “because no one knows what tomorrow will bring.”
Wiping away her tears, she decided to cherish each day by spending meaningful time with her family and friends, reconciling with others, and finding peace with herself. She turned her focus toward what truly mattered in the moment, refusing to dwell in the emotional grip of self-pity or fear of death. (More)
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Thanks for reading 🙏 Have a wonderful day! |
—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li. |
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