Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead U.S. governance of Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. special forces earlier on January 4, 2026, until a safe, orderly and balanced transition of power is possible, Bloomberg reported citing a source in updates over the past 59 minutes. President Donald Trump's national security team, including Rubio, Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is working on a governance structure for Venezuela, according to the Wall Street Journal as cited in the ASTRA report shared during the reporting window. Trump announced the U.S. would govern the country in the interim. Pope Leo XIV expressed concern for Venezuela at the Angelus prayer, stating the good of the Venezuelan people must prevail to overcome violence and ensure sovereignty, rule of law and human rights, according to a post by CatholicSat in the past hour. He prayed for peace, entrusting it to Venezuelan saints. The U.S. lifted flight restrictions over the Caribbean, AlertaNews24 reported moments ago at around 1:45 p.m. UTC. Separately, the Bolivarian National Militia released a video calling on people to unite, showing armed spokespersons with customized AR-15 carbines and East German MPi-KMS-72 rifles, per war_noir. President Trump confirmed in a CNN interview that the U.S. used a temporary electromagnetic bomb during the Venezuela operation, paralyzing military and communication systems for several hours, according to a Telegram channel citing the interview shared over the past hour.
