Late-night television hosts in the United States delivered a unified and blistering critique this week, following former President Donald Trump's surprise military action in Venezuela. The operation, which occurred in the early hours of 2 January 2026, resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and has been condemned internationally as a "crime of aggression".
Stewart's Scathing Return to The Daily Show
Making his first Daily Show appearance of the new year, Jon Stewart immediately addressed the geopolitical shock. He framed the unilateral action as a stark violation of international norms. "It is highly unusual for any government, any sovereign nation, to violate the airspace and territory of another sovereign nation and hit the grab and go on their president," Stewart stated.
He expressed profound scepticism about the long-term outcome, cynically predicting a brief period of celebration followed by decades of blowback. "Based on the United States' track record, my guess is we're going to be really happy about this for a couple of weeks," he said. "And then 30 years from now, there will be a Venezuelan leftist revolution, and the new government will point to this moment as the reason our embassy there is on fire."
Stewart saved particular scorn for Trump's blunt admission that the incursion was motivated by access to Venezuela's substantial oil reserves, a confession that undermined his aides' attempts to justify the action on anti-drug trafficking grounds. "Oil. Precious commodity, certainly – but not the reason a country, formed 250 years ago on the ideas of liberty and self-determination, would go into a country and snatch a man at night," he mocked.
Kimmel and Colbert Mock Trump's Motives and Management
Over on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel returned from hiatus with a rapid-fire summary of Trump's eventful holiday period. He sarcastically noted the irony of Trump's New Year's resolution for "peace on earth" lasting less than 48 hours. "If you were wondering how bad these Epstein files are for Trump, turns out they're invade Venezuela bad," Kimmel quipped, linking the action to the imminent release of court documents related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Kimmel also ridiculed Trump's vague announcement that he would now "run" Venezuela. "He's going to run Venezuela? He can't even run the country he runs!" he exclaimed, comparing the prospect to one failing retail chain attempting to buy another.
Stephen Colbert opened his monologue on The Late Show with a similar theory about the Epstein files prompting drastic action. "Do you know what this means? Those Epstein files must be crazy," he said, taking a theatrical sip of whiskey. While acknowledging Maduro's own problematic record, Colbert focused on the absurdity of the situation, joking that the captured leader had been "renditioned to the Gowanus Expressway."
On the question of who would now govern Venezuela, Colbert deadpanned, "Well, we still don't know for sure, but chances are it's going to come down to either Paramount or Netflix."
A Legacy of Hypocrisy and 'Thuggish Gangsterism'
Seth Meyers on Late Night highlighted the stark hypocrisy of Trump's action, given his longstanding political brand of opposing foreign military entanglements. Meyers played a compilation of clips showing Trump railing against the "never-ending wars" of previous administrations.
"I still can't actually believe anyone thought Trump was telling the truth about being anti-war," Meyers said. "Giving Donald Trump control of the US military is like giving the cast of Real Housewives an open bar and a 'one free slap' coupon."
Returning to his desk, Jon Stewart concluded with a sombre reflection on the damage to America's global standing. He spoke of "the real Gulf of America" which he defined as "the gap between the high aspirations that embody the founding of this country and the thuggish gangsterism that this crew thinks makes us great again."
The collective response from late-night television underscored a deep-seated alarm and weariness with the Trump administration's foreign policy, framing the Venezuela operation not as a noble intervention but as a cynical, resource-driven power grab with potentially catastrophic long-term consequences.
