The US raid on Venezuela is aimed at paving the way for a next strike against Iran.
2026 begins with a shock: the U.S. raids Venezuela to seize oil, securing a strategic reserve before a planned strike on Iran to destroy BRICS and block China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
2026 began turbulently. On January 3, the United States launched a surprise attack on Venezuela, striking multiple Venezuelan military bases. Simultaneously, the U.S. dispatched elite Delta Force special forces to raid the Venezuelan presidential palace, capturing President Maduro and his wife.
The United States’ rogue actions against Venezuela have shocked the world and drawn strong condemnation from many countries, including Russia and China, which have issued strongly worded statements.
Why did the United States suddenly launch a surprise attack on Venezuela? This matter probably has to start with Iran on the other side of the world.
Since December 2025, the United States and Israel have comprehensively escalated their multidimensional pressure campaign against Iran, launching a full-scale attack on Iran in economic, military, and political spheres.
The first step was Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to the United States, in an attempt to persuade the United States to support Israel in striking Iran again by presenting so-called “evidence that Iran was plotting to attack Israel.”
Secondly, the Iranian rial has suddenly plummeted against the US dollar, reaching an astonishing 1.45 million to 1 exchange rate. This dramatic depreciation has caused a sharp decline in the living standards of the Iranian people, with prices soaring to unbearable levels.
As a result, Iran has experienced the most serious unrest since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. In some areas, demonstrators armed by unidentified forces (possibly the Israeli Mossad) have even stormed police stations and other security facilities. Iran’s elite Basij militia has also suffered heavy losses in attacks by armed mobs.
Thirdly, Iranian President Pezeshkian stated in a speech that the United States, the European Union, and Israel are waging a “full-scale war” against Iran.
All indications suggest that another attack by Israel and the United States against Iran may be imminent. They may first launch an attack on Iran from within through a color revolution. Only if this method fails will the United States and Israel resort to direct military strikes.
Therefore, this US-Israeli military strike against Iran will differ from the one in June 2025, representing a comprehensive escalation of the attack. For example, the US and Israel might seek to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader, Khamenei. If Khamenei is assassinated in a US-Israeli attack, Iran will undoubtedly cut off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil artery.
Therefore, in order to ensure the stability of the US domestic economy, the US and Israel must acquire sufficient oil reserves before launching an attack on Iran to cope with Iran’s possible blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The only source of such sufficient oil reserves is Venezuela.
Venezuela has abundant oil reserves, amounting to 303 billion barrels, ranking first in the world. If the United States can control Venezuelan oil before Israel attacks Iran, then even if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, it will not affect oil prices or the US domestic economy.
If Iran were to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to a US-Israeli attack, the US and its allies would not be affected. Only countries like China and Japan, which heavily rely on the Strait of Hormuz for oil transport, would be impacted. The US and Israel’s aim is to exacerbate tensions between China and Iran, create division and turmoil within the BRICS nations, and ultimately undermine the BRICS’s overall strength.
This is the fundamental reason why the United States launched a surprise attack on Venezuela at the beginning of 2026.
The overall strength of the BRICS countries and the trend of de-dollarization have greatly alarmed the United States. Therefore, the United States is determined to destroy the BRICS countries. As a result, in the future, the contradictions between the United States and its European allies and the BRICS countries will continue to intensify, becoming the fuse for a new world war.
Another reason for the US attack on Iran is to cut off China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Iran is the most crucial node in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. If the US overthrows the Iranian regime, China’s Belt and Road Initiative will completely fail. Iran is also Russia’s last key ally in the Middle East. Therefore, China and Russia must help Iran.
In other words, Iran has become the decisive battleground between China & Russia, and the United States & its European allies.
Venezuela was the opening ceremony of this decisive battle.
The war in Iran is a matter of life and death for the BRICS countries, a critical interest in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and a matter of Russia’s influence in the Middle East. Therefore, it is a battle that must be fought.
The BRICS countries have no way to retreat and can only fight with their backs against the wall.
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The Kidnapping of Maduro: A More Severe Scenario
Recent developments suggest that the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro may have been far worse than initially portrayed.
A tweet on X by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez honored Cuban combatants—[a search by AI Grok, citing the Cuban government, reports 32 of them] who allegedly died defending Maduro “against U.S. invaders.”
Yet there are strong suspicions that this account conceals the truth: these Cuban fighters may in fact have been treacherously executed by the venezuelan FANB elite unit GHP, the Presidential Guard.
The Role of FANB’s Elite Forces:
The elite units of Venezuela’s Armed Forces (FANB), sworn to defend Maduro with their lives and as the facts indicate, they and many more were reportedly bribed with vast sums of money, according to former CIA officer and geopolitical analyst Ron Aledo, in an interview with Pascal Lottaz on the NeutralityStudies YouTube channel.
I deduct from the facts that they were compelled to assassinate the Cuban special forces—highly experienced operatives sent as a gesture of solidarity by Havana to Caracas. There was no alternative.
Maduro, fully aware of U.S. intentions and distrustful of his own ranks, relied on these Cuban fighters as his most direct, first shield.
Had they confronted U.S. Marines, they would likely have inflicted significant casualties in intense combat. I have no doubt about it.
If not assassinated, HOW did they die?
Yet no Marine nor Maduro were injured, a fact consistent with the “pact” allegedly struck: FANB, the GHP, and the Chavista leadership agreed to deliver Maduro alive in exchange for hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of dollars.
Political Maneuvering After the Kidnapping
In the aftermath, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and strong suspect has publicly expressed "indignation over Maduro’s abduction", while simultaneously, not coherently declaring the need to “cooperate with the Government of the United States.”
This statement effectively signals full compliance with directives from Donald Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio, the latter increasingly determined to dismantle the Cuban Regime as well.
Trump has already warned President Rodríguez that failure to obey would bring consequences “worse than those faced by Maduro.”
I interpret this threat as a veiled suggestion that she could be eliminated by Venezuelans themselves once Washington reveals evidence of all this betrayal by so many venezuelans.
Such tactics resemble the methods attributed to Israel’s Mossad, which is known to employ bribery and blackmail—using compromising video and audio files—to exert influence over U.S. presidents, Congress, the Pentagon, the MIC, military-industrial complex, and Elites, like political and economic actors across the Western world, including Colombia, Venezuela, and the Middle East.