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Learning English from the News

Upper intermediate level

US seizes Venezuelan president Maduro

Episode 260107 / 07 Jan 2026

(Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

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The story

The US military attacked the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Saturday and arrested its president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The couple were taken to New York and appeared in court on Monday, accused of conspiring with terrorist organisations and trafficking cocaine into the US. Both Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty.

Following the military action in Venezuela US President Donald Trump said the US would “run” Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time.

News headlines

Maduro's fate lies with US courts, as Venezuela's lies with Trump
Le Monde

Trump's seizure of Maduro raises thorny legal questions
BBC News

Trump’s Venezuela raid plunges Greenland and the Western military alliance into uncertainty
CNN

Key words and phrases

(someone's) fate lies with (someone or something)
future depends on

  • The fate of the new railway lies with town planners.

thorny
difficult or complicated

  • What to do about taxes is a particularly thorny problem for the government.

plunge (someone or something) into uncertainty
cause someone to suddenly feel uncertain or worried

  • When the venue cancelled their wedding, the couple were plunged into uncertainty.

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