What Venezuelans say about Trump’s incursion isn’t what we’ve been told: Full Comment podcast

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Emilio Figueredo and Freddy Guevara understand better than any western analyst the Venezuelan reality, the regime of dictator Nicolás Maduro and the aftermath of his capture by U.S. President Donald Trump. Figueredo, editor of independent Venezuelan news outlet Analitica, talks to Brian Lilley from Caracas and explains what it’s like there now, why Maduro was foiled by his reliance on Cuba and why Trump needed to leave the Bolivarian regime in power — for now. Guevara, an exiled opposition politician once imprisoned by Maduro, tells Lilley about support among Venezuelans for the military operation and why foreign complaints about Trump violating international law carry little weight there. Both describe Venezuelans’ hopes as higher than they’ve been in a long time, although freedom hasn’t come yet. (Recorded Jan. 8, 2026.)