U.S Venezuela move adds a little fuel to markets

The bold American determination to snatch Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and his woman has fixed banal futures a boost successful trading precocious Sunday.

The gains came arsenic Venezuelan opponents to Maduro's presidency celebrated each play astir the satellite — from Australia to England, Spain to Florida and New York.

So did Donald Trump and his Administration.

Madura and his woman Celia Flores were seized astatine the Presidential compound successful Caracas aboriginal Saturday, helicoptered to the elephantine amphibious vessel USS Iwo Jima lasting by disconnected the Venezuelan coast, and past flown straight to New York that night.

The mates whitethorn marque their archetypal U.S. tribunal appearances connected cause trafficking charges connected Monday.

The celebrations inevitably coiled down, and, arsenic they did, particularly Sunday, the questions came accelerated and furiously. The answers whitethorn travel later.

In futures trading aboriginal Monday, the Dow Jones concern mean was up astir 30 points successful futures trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 11 points. But trading pushed Nasdaq-100 futures up 98 points, suggesting a decent open, surely for tech stocks, erstwhile regular trading opens astatine 9:30 a.m. ET.

Venezuelans celebrating Saturday Maduro's apprehension Saturday successful Madrid. (Getty)

One can't accidental the smaller gains were the merchandise of the U.S. military's seizure of Maduro.

Instead, the Venezuela lawsuit was the fiscal equivalent of a handgrenade tossed randomly into a assemblage of mostly bullish investors who person been expecting a large twelvemonth for stocks successful 2026.

To recap quickly, promised U.S. forces bombed Caracas, Venezuela's capitol, stormed the statesmanlike compound aboriginal Saturday and flew disconnected with Maduro and his woman successful handcuffs. They are present successful custody successful Brooklyn awaiting arraignment this week.

President Trump said the United States would present "run" Venezuela, get a unchangeable authorities organized and past commencement to get Venezuela elephantine lipid reserves into accumulation again. And that started the questions.

Who would really tally Venezuela? The American presumption Saturday greeting was that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was cooperating, The Washington Post reported. Not agelong after, Rodríguez demanded that Maduro beryllium released. Later, Trump, connected the mode to playing golf, said, "If she doesn’t bash what’s right, she is going to wage a precise large price, astir apt bigger than Maduro," the Atlantic reported.

Would American troops beryllium connected the ground? Not clear. The reasoning was they would beryllium stationed disconnected Venezuela's 1,700-mile-long coast. For however long? Also not clear.

How galore unit were progressive successful the weekend's raid? One mode oregon another, possibly 15,000.