SEN JEAN SHAHEEN: Maduro is gone, but the same power structures remain in Venezuela

U.S. military allegedly captured Maduro, but Venezuela's power structure remains unchanged. Same officials control key institutions as costs mount.

Democrat Jeanne Shaheen represents New Hampshire in the United States Senate. She is the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. She previously served as governor of New Hampshire. You can find her on X @SenatorShaheen and on Facebook.

That continuity has consequences. The networks tied to drug trafficking and official corruption remain entrenched in the government, as do the conditions that have driven more than seven million people to flee the country, many of them to the United States or to neighboring countries like Colombia and Peru. The American adversaries most invested in preserving this system remain actively engaged.