Venezuelans in Buenos Aires, Argentina, celebrating the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, January 3, 2026 (Photo by Roberto Fiadone, CC BY 4.0)
The first weekend of 2026 started with the news that the United States had captured Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro. For this episode of The Latino Newsletter podcast, host Michelle Zacarias welcomes Juan Escalante, an immigrant rights advocate, digital strategist, and storyteller who was born in Venezuela and is now a U.S. citizen.
Juan has been actively writing and creating videos this week about the country’s uncertain path, and he also shares his thoughts on the ICE killing of Renée Nicole Good.
Here is the episode. Let us know what you think.
This episode of The Latino Newsletter podcast was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramírez, and Michelle Zacarias. Julio Ricardo Varela edited the conversation. The music is by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.
Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations and the Latino Media Consortium.
We are already raising funds for Season 3 of our podcast. Give to us anytime!
What We’re Reading
FBI Bars Minnesota From Investigation: From the Sahan Journal, “Federal law enforcement will ‘solely’ lead the investigation into an immigration agent’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis, and will not work with Minnesota agencies, state authorities revealed Thursday morning.”
Senate Venezuela Vote: Via NBC News, “The Senate fired a warning shot at President Donald Trump, voting Thursday to advance a bipartisan resolution to block him from using military force ‘within or against Venezuela’ unless he gets prior approval from Congress.”
Julio Ricardo Varela edited and published this edition of The Latino Newsletter.