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John,

If it feels to you like the geopolitical map is shifting in real time, you are not alone. Iran’s regime is facing widespread protests and has cut off Internet access. America has captured rogue oil tankers flying Russian flags, and China is increasing its saber-rattling around Taiwan. Meanwhile, the United States carried out an operation in Venezuela that ended with Nicolás Maduro captured and removed from power. 

This is exactly the kind of chaotic moment when people get pulled into a narrative first and the facts second. 

No Labels is focused on facts. We are pulling together what we can verify, explaining why it matters, and posting it on our website under The Latest as we go. 

The map below, built by the No Labels policy team, captures one core reality that helps link all these different threads: Venezuela under Maduro was propped up by America’s most determined adversaries. China, Russia, and Iran (as well as Cuba) helped keep the regime standing, and they got something in return. 

Here is what else No Labels dug into this week. You can start with a 30,000-foot view on Venezuela, including its role in cocaine trafficking, its oil reserves, the scale of the economic collapse, the refugee exodus, and how foreign backing shaped the regime’s staying power.

• Five Things You Need to Know About Venezuela 

Then we did a deeper dive on the specific deals and forms of support from America’s adversaries that kept Maduro afloat, and why those relationships matter now for any transition. 

•  Who Was Really Backing Maduro? 

We looked at the 1989 arrest of Panamanian Manuel Noriega precedent can and cannot tell us about what comes next in Caracas.  

• The Arrest of Nicolás Maduro and the Ghost of Manuel Noriega 

And we dove into hard numbers and the policy chain that turned an oil-rich country into a shattered economy, and why that collapse fueled everything else. 

• How Did Venezuela’s Economy Collapse?  

We will keep updating The Latest as events move. If you want to follow along, you can read everything in one place on our website: nolabels.org/the-latest/.

Sam Zickar 

Senior Writer