Venezuela After Maduro: Democracy or Regime Management? with Tony Frangie Mawad
Fri Feb 06 2026
In Part Two of this conversation on Venezuela, The Burn Bag turns to the present — and the shockwaves following U.S. strikes and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro.
Host A’ndre Gonawela is joined again by Tony Frangie Mawad, a Venezuela-based journalist and political scientist, to examine how the United States’ intervention reshaped Venezuela’s political landscape overnight. The conversation explores how power is being reconfigured under interim president Delcy Rodríguez, how Venezuelans are reacting on the ground, and why the removal of Maduro has not meant the collapse of the system he left behind.
The episode also unpacks the role of oil, the interests of China and Russia, and the difficult question at the center of this moment: whether Venezuela is headed toward democratic transition, authoritarian stabilization, or something far messier in between.
Read Tony's Politico piece, "What I Saw in Venezuela After Trump Seized Maduro," here.
More
In Part Two of this conversation on Venezuela, The Burn Bag turns to the present — and the shockwaves following U.S. strikes and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro. Host A’ndre Gonawela is joined again by Tony Frangie Mawad, a Venezuela-based journalist and political scientist, to examine how the United States’ intervention reshaped Venezuela’s political landscape overnight. The conversation explores how power is being reconfigured under interim president Delcy Rodríguez, how Venezuelans are reacting on the ground, and why the removal of Maduro has not meant the collapse of the system he left behind. The episode also unpacks the role of oil, the interests of China and Russia, and the difficult question at the center of this moment: whether Venezuela is headed toward democratic transition, authoritarian stabilization, or something far messier in between. Read Tony's Politico piece, "What I Saw in Venezuela After Trump Seized Maduro," here.