After Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to clarify President Donald Trump’s Saturday comment that the United States would “run” Venezuela following the capture and extradition of Nicolás Maduro, the president reiterated his position Sunday.

“We’re dealing with the people. We’re dealing with the people that just got supported. And don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One. “We’re in charge.”

Trump added that there would be elections in Venezuela “at the right time.” 

“We’re going to run it, fix it,” he said. “It’s a broken country. There’s no money. There’s inflation, like we would have had if I didn’t win this election, we would have been Venezuela on steroids.”

When asked whether he believed America was back in the business of nation-building, Trump said rebuilding the Venezuelan economy would be good for the country. 

“We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable, successful and where the oil is allowed to freely come out, because that’s good, it gets the prices down. That’s good for our country,” Trump said. “This is Venezuela, our area, the ‘Donroe Doctrine,’” a play on words riffing on the Monroe Doctrine to describe his Trump-branded approach to American leadership in the Western Hemisphere. 

Trump said that he was inspired to take action against Maduro because of the drugs coming into the United States from Venezuela. Over the last few months, the War Department has conducted strikes on more than 30 boats suspected of running drugs, many of them coming from Venezuela. Trump said that drugs coming by sea into the United States were down 97%.

During his conversation with reporters, Trump called for Mexico to take more action to stop drug trafficking. 

“You have to do something with Mexico,” Trump said. “Mexico has to get their act together, because they’re pouring through Mexico, and we’re gonna have to do something. We’d love Mexico to do it. They’re capable of doing it. But unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico.”

Trump was also asked about Greenland and whether he had any plans to take control there. He said he wanted to focus on Ukraine and Venezuela for the next few months, but believed it was a strategically important country. 

“We need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” Trump said. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife are charged in the United States, nationwide anti-regime protests in Iran threaten to boil over, and Zohran Mamdani’s term as New York City mayor begins with fresh controversy.

It’s Monday, January 5, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire:

New Details In Daring Venezuela Raid

As the dust settles in Venezuela, new details have emerged surrounding the daring mission to capture dictator Nicolás Maduro. According to the Pentagon, the CIA placed a covert team in Venezuela to track Maduro’s movements, and according to Gen. Dan Caine, find out “how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore,” etc. President Donald Trump reportedly approved the operation just before Christmas, but it wasn’t until late Friday night that the weather finally cleared, and more than 150 American aircraft took off from 20 bases across the western hemisphere. As helicopters carrying the main extraction team approached the city, a barrage of missiles disabled Venezuelan air defenses, and the capital city went dark — reportedly thanks to an American cyberattack. Moments later, a group of Special Forces operators arrived at Maduro’s compound, where the tyrannical leader and his wife were ultimately captured as they attempted to open the door of a large steel safe room. The entire operation took a little over 2 hours.

Tehran In Turmoil

Anti-regime protests continue to rock Iran as the government struggles to handle crises at home and internationally. The unrest began over a week ago among merchants in Tehran and has since spread across the capital and into dozens of smaller cities and towns. Demonstrations were initially motivated by economic woes, but the protests have grown into calls for regime change, with protesters chanting phrases such as “Death to Khamenei” and “Freedom, freedom.” Activists are split on what new regime they would like; some have called for democracy, while others have called for a return of the Shah. But activists share in common a renewed resolve after the Iranian regime was decimated during the 12-Day War by Israel and the United States. President Trump has warned Iran about further intervention should the regime crack down violently on protesters.

Mamdani’s ‘Collectivist Warmth’

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the new mayor of New York on New Year’s Day, and he’s already imposing some sweeping changes. In remarks at the ceremony, Mamdani touted the “warmth of collectivism” over “frigid” individualism, prioritizing the government’s role. Mamdani also took some day-one actions, signing orders on housing to “stand up to landlords” and making good on a campaign promise to freeze rents. Mamdani also revoked two executive orders aimed at protecting Jewish New Yorkers, which raised more than a few eyebrows.