Meet the Moment: Implications of U.S. Military Action in Venezuela

Meet the Moment: Implications of U.S. Military Action in Venezuela 

A conversation with Anne Applebaum and Venezuelan women human rights defenders

Play video: Meet the Moment: Implications of U.S. Military Action in Venezuela

On January 3rd, the United States brazenly launched a military attack on Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, leaving the people of Venezuela in a state of uncertainty about their political and economic future. Despite losing the 2024 election, Maduro had continued serving as president, leading a regime that was characterized by widespread corruption, brutal repression of political opponents, severe economic hardship, and human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions, rape and sexual torture, and severe economic hardship. 

Following Maduro’s extraction, President Trump announced that the U.S. will now “run” Venezuela and underscored the administration’s primary goal: to control Venezuelan oil. The Trump administration also snubbed Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Prize Winner, María Corina Machado– whose party won the 2024 elections– and has indicated willingness to work with Maduro’s vice president, consequently keeping the Maduro regime in power. Since the capture of Maduro, Venezuela’s government has launched a nationwide crackdown, detaining journalists and civilians and deploying armed gangs across the capital. The Trump administration has shown no interest in promoting free and fair elections or a commitment to democracy. Instead, President Trump asserted his version of the Monroe Doctrine over the Western Hemisphere and threatened that Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, and Greenland would be next. 

To meet the moment, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) will host a timely discussion with acclaimed journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner, and 2025 Hillary Rodham Clinton Awardee Anne Applebaum, followed by a conversation with courageous Venezuelan women human rights defenders on the far-reaching implications of the United States’ actions for Venezuela’s democracy and its people, the international rules-based system, and global peace and security. Moderated by GIWPS’ Executive Director Ambassador Melanne Verveer, the discussion will also address the status and future of women political prisoners in Venezuela, who received the 2025 Hillary Rodham Clinton Award alongside Applebaum.