2026-01-12
9 分钟The Economist.
Hi, this is Charlotte Howard, one of the hosts of Checks and Balance, our U.S.
podcast.
Welcome to Editor's Picks.
Here's an article we recommend from the latest edition of The Economist.
We hope you enjoy it.
For 12 years, Nicolás Maduro terrorised Venezuela.
He stole elections, and when people objected, his goons killed,
raped or tortured them by suffocation with plastic bags.
His comrades looted and mismanaged the economy so wantonly that GDP fell by 69%.
A quarter of the population fled abroad,
Both the economic collapse and the exodus have been worse than is typical during the bloodiest of civil wars.
Mr Maduro was also an international menace, colluding with drug gangs,
threatening oil-rich Guyana, and propping up Cuba's communist tyranny with cheap fuel.
He supported Hezbollah, helped Iran evade sanctions,
and gave Russia and China a foothold across the water from Florida.
And then he was gone.
snatched by US Special Forces on January 3rd.
This raid matters far beyond Venezuela.
One reason is how it happened.