'There Has Been an Agreement Behind the Scenes': Journalist on US Running Venezuela After Maduro's Arrest

Veteran correspondent Lucia Newman has expressed surprise at the latest developments in Venezuela following the arrest of its President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. She has warned that the swift collapse of the Venezuelan government suggests 'an agreement behind the scenes' was brokered long before the US-led raid.

Newman, Al Jazeera's Latin America editor, drew parallels between Maduro's arrest and the capture of Panama's Manuel Noriega 36 years ago. She suggested the lack of military resistance and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez's alleged cooperation point to a pre-arranged deal with high-ranking Venezuelan officials.

'Agreement Behind the Scenes'

Newman questioned the sudden cooperation of high-ranking Venezuelan officials during the US incursion that led to Maduro and Flores' arrest.

She highlighted that the immediate installation of a new administration often follows a specific historical pattern of external intervention. She expressed at Trump's claims about Rodriguez, the traditionally 'hardline Vice President' and 'staunch supporter' of the Maduro administration.

'But what has happened in Venezuela is full of surprises, things that I could never have anticipated,' Newman wrote. She suggested that Rodríguez's alleged willingness to work with US authorities and the lack of sustained military resistance point towards a coordinated effort to dismantle the previous regime from within.

'Now we hear from Trump that she is on board with whatever the US wants them to do,' Newman continued. 'I'm beginning to think that there has been an agreement behind the scenes for weeks or maybe months, with a lot of high-ranking military members, to allow this to happen.'

Newman's theory suggests that the United States did not merely capture the capital but also inherited it through a pre-negotiated surrender by working with high-ranking Venezuelan officials.

However, Rodríguez publicly contradicted Trump's account hours later, demanding 'proof of life' for Maduro and Flores and declaring Maduro the 'only president' of Venezuela, according to CBS News.

Echoes of Panama's Noriega

Newman noted that the current situation in Venezuela feels familiar to the removal of Panama's military strongman Manuel Noriega in 1990. She was in Panama when the US launched Operation Just Cause. She noted similarities: the swift capture of a leader followed by the immediate installation of a new government.

Much like the present situation in Venezuela, the US launched a swift invasion to detain the Panamanian dictator, who was also accused of narco-terrorism and racketeering. Noriega was eventually captured on 3 January 1990 after taking refuge in the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See and was subsequently transported to the United States to face trial.

He was convicted on charges of drug trafficking and was detained for 20 years in the US before being extradited to France in 2010. In 2011, he returned to Panama to complete a 60-year sentence for committing murder, corruption, and embezzlement during his rule, CBS News reported.

Noriega died in 2017 due to complications following a surgery to remove a benign brain tumour. He was 83.

US to 'Run' Venezuela

During Trump's press conference following Maduro's capture, the US President confirmed that the country would run Venezuela.

'We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,' Trump said.

The President added that they only wanted 'peace, liberty, and justice' for the people in Venezuela. He said the US couldn't take the risk of handing the nation over to someone who didn't consider the citizens' welfare in mind, as they had endured enough under Maduro's leadership for over a decade. Maduro served as President of Venezuela from 2013 until his capture on 3 January 2026.