REUTERS
Intelligence for the New World Economy
News organizations held off on reporting Venezuela raid
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- The decisions in the New York and Washington newsrooms to maintain official secrecy is in keeping with longstanding American journalistic traditions — even at a moment of unprecedented mutual hostility between the American president and a legacy media that continues to dominate national security reporting.
- And it offers a rare glimpse at a thread of contact and even cooperation over some of the highest-stakes American national security issues.
President Donald Trump and top administration officials Saturday praised the stunning seizure of the Venezuelan president, which Trump approved at 10:46 p.m. Friday, citing both the lack of American casualties and the total secrecy surrounding the attack.
Hegseth did not mention that part of that secrecy was the news outlets’ decision — unlike other countries, the US does not have a mechanism for the government to prevent publication of secrets — to hold off their reporting for several hours after the administration warned that reporting could have exposed American troops performing the operation.
- Spokespeople for the White House, the Pentagon, and the Washington Post declined to comment on the conversations between journalists and officials Friday night. A Times spokesperson didn’t immediately offer a response to an inquiry.
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Trump’s open hostility to the news media has long shaped his public persona, and flows through his second administration. Nowhere has that been on display more than the Pentagon, where last year, new policies forced many news organizations to leave their press spaces in the building due to a policy change tightening restrictions on reporting inside the building. Leaks of national security information, purposeful and accidental, have ignited some of the biggest media firestorms of Trump’s second term in office.
Hegseth and Leavitt Hype Trump’s Foul-Mouthed Threat After Maduro ‘Capture’
Leading members of the Trump administration have reshared a foul-mouthed warning from Donald Trump directed at Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after the U.S. launched airstrikes on the South American country.
Trump posted on Truth Social early Saturday morning that the U.S. had “successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela,” and had “captured” Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, before flying them out of the country.
With details of the military action still undisclosed—including its legal justification—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a clip on social media of Trump warning Maduro in October that he did not want to “f--- around” with the United States amid rising tensions between Washington and Caracas.
Trump made the remarks after confirming that Maduro had “offered everything”—reportedly including oil and other mineral resources—in an attempt to ease tensions between the two countries. The expletive threat came as the U.S. was carrying out deadly airstrikes against suspected Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean and ramping up its military presence near Venezuela.
Photos show Trump watching U.S. military operation in Venezuela
Sunday, 4th January 2026, 00:53 UTC
