Maduro was kidnapped by the US military in Venezuela, Cuba’s economy is threatened
Economist Stephen Moore reveals what US control of Venezuela’s oil reserves means for prices and examines a report that the One Big Beautiful Bill will reduce tax evasion at Varney & Co.
US military operation to capture and remove Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro A departure from power could put pressure on the Cuban economy as the communist country recovers from the loss of an important economic and security partner.
Maduro and his wife were arrested over the weekend after President Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on the couple on narcoterrorism charges.
Maduro’s ouster threatens to end the economic partnership established by his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, whom Maduro succeeded in 2013.
Under Chávez’s regime, Venezuela began support the Cuban economy with heavily subsidized oil in 1999, when he described economic cooperation as placing the two countries in a “sea of happiness.”
AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA IS FACED WITH DIFFICULT DECISIONS TO REBUILD ITS CRASHED ECONOMY.
People walk down the street in Caracas on Jan. 4, 2026, a day after Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro was captured by US forces. (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)
While the Cuban government sent doctors to provide medical care to Venezuela, it also sent security and intelligence agents to help protect the Chávez regime from those seeking to overthrow it.
In exchange for those services, Venezuela sent 100,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba – although The Wall Street Journal reported that those volumes fell to about 30,000 barrels a day amid the US attack on Venezuela’s oil concession.
The Trump administration has sought to block those shipments, and the US in December seized two oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela amid a blockade designed to stem the flow of sanctions. Venezuelan oil.
WE NOW CONTROL SENZUELA OIL FIELDS, THE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD: CHART
Venezuela’s oil exports have helped prop up Cuba’s economy under communist rule in recent decades. (Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that Cuba has been Net power for more than decades, as total energy consumption accounted for 66.1% of total electricity in Cuba in 2023.
Cuba’s economy has been struggling amid migration, food shortages and power outages caused by unreliable electricity.
The magazine reported that nearly a quarter of Cuba’s population, more than 2.7 million people, have left the island as of 2020, according to Havana-based demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos.
US OIL GIANTS MUM AFTER TRUMP SAYS THEY WILL PUT BILLIONS OUT OF VENEZUELA
Vintage cars race through the streets of Havana, the capital of Cuba, on Oct. 29, 2025. (Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Trump told reporters during a demonstration on Air Force One that he believes Cuba is at risk of collapse after being asked if he was considering US action against the Cuban government.
“I think it’s just going to fall. I don’t think we need action. It looks like it’s going down. It’s going down by count,” Trump said.
TRUMP SAYS CUBA ‘READY TO FALL’ AFTER ARRESTING VENEZUELA’S MADURO
The US has seized two oil tankers that were allowed off the coast of Venezuela. (Stefan Sauer/photo alliance via Getty Images)
U.S. officials say Cuban security forces played a major role in keeping Maduro in power. Secretary of State Marco Rubio he said Cuban operatives are successfully conducting intelligence and security operations in Venezuela – including guarding Maduro and monitoring the integrity of his government.
The Cuban government said on Sunday that 32 Cuban soldiers and police were killed during the US operation in Venezuela. Cuban media said the police were deployed at the request of Maduro’s government.
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Trump confirmed the Cuban casualties, saying, “A lot of Cubans were killed,” and that “there was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side.”
Bradford Betz of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
