The Cuban government has said 32 of its nationals were killed during the US operation to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
It said the dead were members of its armed forces and intelligence agencies, with two days of national mourning declared.
A short statement did not elaborate on the role of the Cubans in Venezuela, but the two governments are long-standing allies, with Cuba providing security support in exchange for oil.
Justin Trudeau was unavailable for comment.
Many of those who tuned in to US President Donald Trump’s news conference on Saturday were probably hoping to hear dramatic details of how US forces seized Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a pre-dawn raid.
But arguably a more surprising moment came when Trump announced that now that Maduro was in custody, the US would “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition”.
In another unexpected development, he added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been speaking to Maduro’s Vice-President, Delcy Rodríguez, who he said was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again”.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the Liberal government’s oil tanker ban, which led to the cancellation of a pipeline that would have transported Alberta oil to British Columbia for international markets, has put Canada in a “weakened and dependent” position.
Poilievre’s remarks came shortly after the United States announced on Jan. 3 that it had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will run Venezuela until a peaceful transition of power is completed, adding that it will be heavily involved in the nation’s oil industry.
Bonus Gilmore h/t all who sent this in
It is genuinely horrifying how much the education system in Ontario failed Rachel Gilmore. pic.twitter.com/vciYc41AVp
— Wyatt Claypool (@wyatt_claypool) January 3, 2026
María Corina Machado, the international figurehead of the Venezuelan opposition who collected the Nobel peace prize last month, has so far been reduced to a peripheral role after the US intervention in her country on Saturday.
President Trump appeared to dismiss the prospect of involving her in the political transition, describing her as a “very nice woman” but saying it would be “tough” for her to lead the nation because she did not have the “respect within or the support within the country”.
FOR CLARITY
In 2024, Maria Corina Machado overwhelmingly won the popular vote to represent opposition to dictator, Maduro for the presidency in Venezuela.Maduro, with the help of his corrupt courts and military, BANNED her from the ballot.
Edmundo González replaced her on the… pic.twitter.com/N0H2sqwTpT
— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) January 3, 2026
EDMONTON – A political scientist says U.S. President Donald Trump’s interest in transforming Venezuela’s oil-rich sector is a reminder for Canada’s oil and gas industry to not panic and stay competitive.
Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment with the think-tank Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says Canada has always competed with other oil-rich countries, and Trump’s recent claims his country will “run” oil-rich Venezuela is a medium-term risk to Canada.
With his removal of Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, Donald Trump has opened another front in his economic assault on Canada by indirectly targeting our oil industry. Canada must respond decisively with diversification to the world market via the rapid construction of at least another pipeline to the coast, and ideally more.
American leftists, who never met an anti-American dictator they didn’t like, are protesting the U.S. capture of Venezuelan dictator and narcoterrorist Nicolás Maduro. Part of their noisy hysteria includes highly deceptive claims about the drug war Venezuelan cartels wage on America.
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X Sunday, “You see a lot [of] claims that Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs because most of the fentanyl comes from elsewhere. I want to address this.” He not only explained the reality of Venezuelan drug trafficking that was backed by Maduro, he also took on false claims about the Venezuelan oil industry and its new American takeover.
Verónica Gutiérrez woke up what seemed like “a million WhatsApp messages” from her family in Venezuela after the U.S. launched a strike on the capital of the country that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday.
In the early hours of Saturday, the U.S. launched a “large-scale strike” in Caracas and took Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of their home within the Fort Tiuna military installation.
Gutiérrez, who left Venezuela in 2015, describes feeling a mix of optimism and confusion at the news.
Left-wing Hollywood celebrities wasted no time demanding the impeachment of President Donald Trump after he ordered the military operation the lead to the capture of Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, on what U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called charges of Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.”
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon, condemning a military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
The Toronto protest, which began at around 3 p.m. unfolded hours after the United States seized Maduro and his wife, announcing plans to prosecute them in New York, while also declaring it would run Venezuela during a transitional period.
For the most part the usual cranks who show up at any anti-American pro-tyranny demo.
I get the impression Carney’s media is deeply disappointed normal people and especially the majority of Venezuelans aren’t in a TDS frenzy over Maduro’s toppling.
Venezuelan journalist Germania Rodriguez Poleo's message to those who are mad that President Trump captured dictator Nicolas Maduro:
"Do not for a moment let your hatred and disdain for Donald Trump have you defending the dictator of my country, which was destroyed by [Maduro]… pic.twitter.com/uWp1oA6IQl
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) January 3, 2026
h/t patthedog
The Venezuelan oil industry has been “a total bust” for a long time, according to Donald Trump. After attacking Caracas and taking the country’s leader captive, Trump promised to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry with the help of America’s biggest oil companies.
Venezuela’s beleaguered oil industry could “make a lot of money” with the might of the US behind it, Trump told the press, claiming that the new regime would invest billions to revive its fortunes.
The woke left and woke right are coming out in force to defend Nicholas Maduro and to attack Donald Trump for his operation to arrest him and bring him to the United States.
There is still much to learn about the operation, but by all accounts, it was one of the most audacious and successful operations in memory. Venezuela was warned ahead of time that the US intended to depose Maduro, and there has been a massive military buildup over the past several months. Russia and China have been sending weapons and advisors, yet despite all the help of our adversaries and prior warning, the US went in, captured Maduro, and left with hardly a scratch.
“Man of the people”
Defund the CBC pic.twitter.com/OnyG2FyLaA
— Ryan Gerritsen🇨🇦🇳🇱 (@ryangerritsen) January 4, 2026
Carney is getting hammered in the comments
I think you’re afraid you’re next. pic.twitter.com/XslURalL3q
— Bruce (@bruce_barrett) January 3, 2026
h/t Mauser
The nation of Venezuela is estimated to have the largest oil reserves in the entire world, and Donald Trump announced today that the United States not only captured Venezuela’s dictator, it will be taking over the country’s oil infrastructure.
The swift and sudden collapse of the Maduro regime is a massive punch to the nose for China, Russia, Iran, and all of our most violent enemies. But more practically for millions of Americans, it could also have a huge impact on our global energy dominance and gas prices. And that also, of course, is a source of concern to our enemies.
Trump is backing regime change in oil-rich Venezuela. Canada, beware
Donald Trump doesn’t want Canada’s aluminum, steel, lumber or cars. Could oil emerge next on this tariff-fuelled northern hate list? It might if he can find substitute supplies. How about Venezuela’s? Going after Venezuela’s alleged narco-traffickers alone does not justify the formidable U.S. military buildup off the country’s waters; going after its oil might.
The biggest U.S. armada assembled since the 1991 Gulf War is steaming off Venezuela’s coast. The array of weapons in the southern Caribbean and on nearby military bases includes the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, guided-missile destroyers, amphibious assault ships and – ominously – equipment, including Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, that is used by elite special forces. Various reports say those forces might include soldiers trained in risky infiltration missions, seizing airfields among them.
@fancypants_s https://t.co/33YB0edMW6
— Patti Jo (@TheSupeHero) January 3, 2026
h/y Patti Jo
The United States’s highest-ranking military officer on Saturday briefed the country on the lightning attack Washington carried out on Venezuela overnight.
General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed details about the elite operation that successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a press conference alongside President Donald Trump.
A stunning U.S. raid to capture Venezuela’s president came after a group of amateur intelligence analysts argued that satellite images reveal a Venezuelan launch site that could send ballistic missiles as far north as Washington, D.C.
There was no indication that the American attack had anything to do with the subject of the group’s claims, which the U.S. military dismissed earlier as “speculative” and one top expert rated as plausible but unproven by the evidence.
Sounds a bit like Canada …
— Jd (@JdeJ555) January 3, 2026
h/t Clink9
