{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Crude Awakening: Maduro\u2019s Seizure and Venezuela\u2019s Future","description":"Fresh off the shock of the U.S. operation to capture Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, the Net Assessment team debates the merits of the operation and what it means for Venezuela\u2019s future. They also discuss why it caught (some of) them off guard, and what it implies about the Trump administration\u2019s decision-making going forward. Chris also questions Trump\u2019s proposed defense budget increase, Melanie gives Denmark a badly needed attaboy, and Zack critiques Pete Hegseth\u2019s punishment of Mark Kelly. *The Net Assessment Podcast is hosted by the Stimson Center and produced by University FM. Show Links: Emma Salisbury, \u201cThe Trump-Class Battleship,\u201d Behind the Front, January 8, 2026. Leo Shane III, \u201cThe 5 Republicans who voted against Trump on Venezuela,\u201d Politico, January 8, 2026. Eric Boehm, \u201cDid Marco Rubio Lie to Congress About Venezuela?\u201d Reason, January 5, 2026. Matthew Cullen, \u201cTrump Said His Global Power Was Limited Only by His \u2018Own Morality\u2019,\u201d New York Times, January 8, 2026. \u201cTCS: President Trump\u2019s $1.5 Trillion Budget Proposal Must Be Rejected,\u201d Taxpayers for Common Sense, January 7, 2026.                                                                                             \u201c$1.5 Trillion Military Budget Would Add $5.8 Trillion to Debt Over Decade,\u201d Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, January 7, 2026. Stephen Collinson, \u201cTrump\u2019s new US mission statement: Strength, force, power,\u201d CNN, January 6, 2026. David E. Sanger et al., \u201cTrump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by \u2018My Own Morality\u2019,\u201d New York Times, January 8, 2026.       ","author_name":"Net Assessment","author_url":"http:\/\/sites.libsyn.com\/132282","html":"