US Readies Legal Endgame for Maduro, Says Oracle Advisory Group’s Vlada Galan

International

oi-Pankaj Mishra

Updated: Saturday, January 3, 2026, 19:40 [IST]

In an interview with Oneindia, geopolitical expert Vlada Galan, Partner at the Oracle Advisory Group, outlined what she described as an inevitable American move to put Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on trial. According to Galan, Washington's strategy has moved beyond diplomatic pressure and sanctions, and is now firmly rooted in a legal and security framework aimed at dismantling the current power structure in Caracas.

Galan argued that the grounds for a potential trial are clear from the US perspective. Any actions by Maduro that are deemed to have directly harmed American interests would form the legal basis of prosecution. She pointed specifically to long-standing allegations involving narcotics trafficking and arms-related networks, which US agencies have repeatedly linked to the Venezuelan leadership. In this context, she maintained, the charges are not symbolic but form part of a broader enforcement doctrine.

One of the more striking assertions made during the interview with Oneindia News Editor Pankaj Mishra was Galan's view that the method used to capture or detain Maduro would be "immaterial" in legal terms. From Washington's standpoint, she said, the focus would be on the charges and outcomes, not the optics of how custody is secured. This, she suggested, reflects a hardened US posture in dealing with regimes it considers hostile or criminally compromised.

Contrary to popular assumptions, Galan dismissed oil as the central driver of US actions in Venezuela. While acknowledging the country's vast energy reserves, she stressed that strategic security considerations and enforcement of US law outweigh purely economic interests. "Oil is not the real issue anymore," she noted, pointing instead to narcotics routes, regional instability, and the credibility of US deterrence.

Looking ahead, Galan predicted that a new interim government would be installed in Venezuela once Maduro is removed from the equation. Such a transition, she said, would be backed by the US and aligned regional actors, framed as a stabilising measure rather than a regime-change experiment.

She also defended Washington's approach in unequivocal terms, stating that the US has an inherent right to defend its national interests and that this "line should not be questioned." Expanding the Latin American lens, Galan added that Colombia is also likely to vote for political change, signalling a broader shift in Latin American politics that could further isolate Caracas.