In the wake of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s removal from Caracas on January 3, both Venezuelans and the global community are eager to understand what lies ahead for the nation.
During a press conference on Saturday, President Donald Trump revealed that the United States will assume control of Venezuela until a safe transition can be instituted. Trump emphasized the importance of stability as the country moves forward.
Isaias Medina, an international lawyer and former senior diplomat of Venezuela, highlighted the crucial need for a peaceful transition. He stressed that this is essential for the nine to ten million Venezuelans who have been forcibly displaced and are currently living in exile. Medina, who stepped down from his diplomatic role in 2017 in opposition to Maduro’s governance, expressed to Fox News Digital the readiness of exiled Venezuelans to return and help rebuild their country.
Amid reactions to Maduro’s capture following U.S. military interventions in Venezuela, the atmosphere in places like Doral, Florida, near Miami, was one of anticipation and hope on January 3, 2026. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP via Getty Images)
According to Medina, with backing from international entities like the Organization of American States, Venezuela’s priority should be establishing a transitional government. Such a government would be tasked with restoring the rule of law and reconstructing institutions that have deteriorated under Maduro’s rule. Medina underscored the critical nature of organizing free and fair elections, describing it as a legal obligation to the Venezuelan people who have long been denied genuine electoral freedom.
Reflecting on the Maduro era, Medina pointed out the absence of a separation of powers and the lack of rule of law and sovereignty in Venezuela. He described the country as being dominated by external influences, including terrorist and trafficking organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). These groups, he noted, were heavily exploiting Venezuela’s resources.
David Daoud, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that so long as Venezuela poses no threat to U.S. national security, the “ideal situation” for Venezuela “would be American guidance for determined local action.”
President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
“The best we can shepherd Venezuela to be is a productive member of the family of nations, and that’s something that we can help with a softer touch, without boots on the ground,” Daoud said. “I don’t think we need to be in the business of trying to create Jeffersonian democracies anywhere.”
Following Maduro’s ouster, Daoud said that the level of chaos allowed to exist inside Venezuela will determine whether terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas will be able to continue operating there. “It would really depend — does the day after in Venezuela create a stable state that is able to properly exercise control over all its territory, is interested in implementing the rule of law, is not corrupt. That would make things very, very complicated, if not impossible, for Hezbollah to operate, at least in the way it has been operating for a decade-plus, ever since the linkage between it and the original Chávez regime came about.”
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro gestures next to his wife Cilia Flores as they leave the Capitolio, home of the National Assembly, after taking the oath during the presidential inauguration in Caracas on Jan. 10, 2025. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)
Going forward, Medina suggested that the country will also have to manage guerrilla forces like the colectivos, violent groups of Venezuelans who were armed and trained with old U.S. and Russian military weapons. Medina said that having these guerrillas “return the weapons for freedom” could help to “unite the nation under one banner of development and evolution… so that we can have a country that really meets the expectations, not only of the riches that it has, but of the people and the development of their education and training and jobs, because it has been completely destroyed by design.”
Though the road ahead is uncertain, Medina is filled with hope. “What we have ahead of us is a great journey to be able to build upon the ruins of what this regime left us. But I think we’re going to become stronger, and this is the moment. The time has come,” Medina explained.
