Proud to be British. Read more from journalists who champion our culture, history and values. | | US agents escort Mr Maduro through the DEA headquarters in New York |  | Benedict Smith US Reporter | Four days ago, Nicolas Maduro declared he was “ready” to strike a deal with Donald Trump to clamp down on drug trafficking and open up his country to American oil giants.
By the early hours of last night, he was an ex-leader, captured as US special forces descended on his compound in helicopters in an early-morning raid as he desperately tried to flee to a safe room.
The operation had been months in the planning, officials said yesterday. It involved hundreds of American aircraft and spy agencies who worked around the clock to establish where Mr Maduro lived, how he travelled, what he ate – even what pets he owned.
Mr Trump, though visibly tired at a press conference, was able to bask in the satisfaction of removing a longstanding foe without losing American lives or equipment. | Mr Maduro was captured by members of Delta Force, an elite US military unit | Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Mr Trump announced that the US would run Venezuela while a transition of power took place. But that commitment was left open-ended.
The key question was posed by a reporter who, referring to one of the Trump campaign slogans, asked him: “Why is running a country in South America, America First?”
The answer says a lot about how the US president, who rose to political dominance a decade ago as a critic of the Iraq War, is adopting an increasingly muscular foreign policy.
“We want to surround ourselves with good neighbours,” Mr Trump answered, putting nearby countries on notice while declaring American oil companies would be able to make use of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
“Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about,” Mr Trump said. He was blunter about Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president: he has to “watch his ass”. | The ousted leader is led off the plane in New York, with his hands and feet shackled | The Trump administration had claimed Mr Maduro was a cartel leader who had flooded the US with illegal drugs, but there are geopolitical advantages to controlling Venezuela’s oil.
A source close to the administration claimed the move would “devastate” China, which has poured billions into the country’s oil infrastructure. If the supply allows the US to keep oil prices low, it will choke off revenues for Iran.
To take those wins, Mr Trump has signalled he is willing to risk a longer entanglement in the Caribbean.
He didn’t rule out putting “boots on the ground” in Venezuela, or a second wave strike. The massive “armada” assembled in the Caribbean will stay. The blockade of sanctioned oil tankers from Venezuela will continue.
How Mr Trump’s Maga base reacts remains to be seen. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an ally-turned-critic of the US president, claimed he had betrayed his own supporters.
Maybe Ms Greene’s mistake was thinking “America First” was only about the United States. Now it turns out that Mr Trump was talking about South America, too.
Read the full story ➤
What Maduro’s capture means for China and Russia ➤
Can Trump’s mad plan to run Venezuela actually work? ➤ | | John Bolton Arresting the dictator is a good start, but it would be foolish to waste this chance to restore government to the Venezuelan people Continue reading ➤ Jake Wallis Simons Trump’s stunning show of strength is a major gamble Continue reading ➤ Priti Patel Starmer’s silence on Iran is shocking Continue reading ➤ | Join the debate. Share your thoughts with our journalists and your fellow readers. | | Harry Brook and Joe Root put England on top before bad weather forces end to play | The confirmation that play had ended early, just as the sun poked through, was booed by those fans left at the SCG.
There had been rain, bad light, and even thunder and lightning, but not for a little while. The hope had never quite gone that play could continue, and as is so often the case, cricket did not help itself by failing to explain exactly why play would not resume.
In the 45 overs that did happen, Harry Brook felt that England built a “very good position”. Brook joined Joe Root at a perilous 57 for three, but stayed the course until the weather turned. They will return early tomorrow with opportunity knocking.
See how the day’s play unfolded here ➤ | | Nigel Farage refers to himself as Reform’s chief executive | | For much of his political life, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been cast by his enemies as a nuisance and a dilettante, but now No 10 is beckoning. Annabel Denham visits the 24th floor of Millbank Tower, where Labour masterminded its 1997 election victory, and finds a party professionalising like crazy – and drawing up a blueprint for transforming Britain. Continue reading ➤ | | | Joan MacDonald: ‘Do you want to sit on your sofa watching TV for the rest of your life? What a waste of time’ | | In her 60s, Joan MacDonald was over 14st and on medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. At 70 she started training, lost weight and turned her health around. Now Joan, who turns 80 in March, says she feels better than she did at 50. Here she shares her daily habits for staying strong and slim at any age. Continue reading ➤ | | | For the past two years Rachel Johnson has given valuable intimate advice to readers. Now our much-appreciated agony aunt shares how her correspondents changed their sexual habits after receiving her words of wisdom. Continue reading ➤ | | | When a reader’s 93-year-old grandmother tried to remove power of attorney from her estranged daughter, Barclays turned a simple administrative task into a painful ordeal. Despite the family promptly notifying the bank of the change, a series of failings left the account exposed for months to the relative abroad. Continue reading ➤ | | | From children’s TV to edgy comedies, Mark Heap has enjoyed one of the most fascinating acting careers of our time | | One of Britain’s finest comic actors, Mark Heap has specialised in playing uniquely strange characters in shows such as Friday Night Dinner and Benidorm. Now he’s back on TV, playing opposite Dawn French in Can You Keep a Secret? He talks to Chris Harvey and, as you might expect from someone so expert at shocking us on screen, it’s an interview full of surprising twists and turns. Continue reading ➤ | | | Spain’s Al Andalus luxury train has carriages reportedly once used by the British Royal family | There’s plenty to get excited about this year if you’re tempted to embark on a rail odyssey. With new high-speed routes across Europe, luxury itineraries through Spain and France, a direct link between Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur; an epic new Silk Road tour; and a spectacular new way to explore the Balkans, there’s never been a better time to take to the tracks.
Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles that I hope will improve your weekend: - A sofa is the centrepiece of any living room and the piece of furniture you’ll use most, so choosing the right one matters – here are 13 of the best.
- As a new year begins, we look ahead to some of the TV highlights awaiting us. From high drama to cerebral comedy, this is the best of what is to come.
| | Every week, one of our writers takes an unfashionable position, either defending a subject that’s been unfairly maligned or criticising something that most people love.  | Joshua Hughes Senior Newsletter Editor | I don’t get the hype about coffee.
To me, and I accept that this is a rather basic view, it’s purely a caffeinated drink that nearly everyone depends upon to get them through the nine to five. But to a lot of people, it appears to have become more of a cult-like obsession. This presents itself in many awful forms.
Firstly, there are the slaves to the coffee subscriptions. The original Pret offer entitled you to five daily coffees. It was so popular at my university that the scheme had to be banned because it was causing too much congestion. I’m no doctor, but if you need five coffees a day you have a problem.
What’s worse, this kind of offer only encourages the insufferable reusable cup gang, who smile smugly whenever their misspelt name is called out. A reality check: if you really cared about the environment you would of course know that coffee is responsible for deforestation, high water usage, carbon emissions (I could go on).
Then there are the so-called artists, who decide that rather than picking up, I don’t know, a paintbrush, insist on spending hours attempting to create “coffee art” for a drink that ultimately looks more like muddy water than a Picasso.
Finally, worst of all, there are those who treat this drink as a personality. They’ve literally even created a secret language for it. No, I don’t want a double mocha matcha latte venti espresso packed with cream sugar and caramel or whatever, I just want a coffee! Is it really necessary to be presented with endless variants of “unique” slow-roasted blends? (An illusion that swiftly dissipates after walking past five more “artisan” shops that all make the same claim to distinctiveness.)
So please, if you’re going to satisfy your caffeine addiction, just keep it simple and have a Nespresso (or is that espresso?)
Do you agree with Joshua? Send your replies here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, for which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | | Cecilia Giménez in 2013 with her ‘restoration’ of Ecce Homo (c 1930) | Cecilia Giménez, who died on Monday aged 94, was an amateur restorer who completely botched her attempt to repair a decaying fresco of Christ in a Spanish church, with the result that it ended up looking like a monkey, writes Andrew M Brown, Obituaries Editor.
The initial reaction was one of universal horror, ramped up by mocking internet memes and wags who renamed Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”) Ecce Mono (mashed-up Spanish-Latin for “Behold the Monkey”). | Ecce Homo before and after its transformation into Ecce Mono | But in an unexpected turn of events, she ended up turning her small town near Zaragoza into a massive tourist draw, with visitors and money pouring in.
This is a story that touches on religious faith and its relationship with devotional images, as well as the wider, vexed question of how far “restoration” can legitimately go in changing the original. There is sadness as well as comedy here, because Giménez’s family life was scarred by scarcely imaginable suffering.
Read the gripping obituary in full here ➤ | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was ALLEGEDLY. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Allister Heath, Sunday Telegraph Editor | |
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