A stunning regime change in Venezuela

What's up, sunshine? Rise up and happy new year. I'm Koi Weyer. Welcome back to CNN 10. It is so good to be back with you. Hope you had an awesome holiday break. And to all my teachers out there, hope you got some much-deserved rest.

All right, a lot of important things happened around the world over the last couple of weeks, and something very important just this weekend. Without further ado, let's get to your news. We begin in Venezuela, where a stunning regime change is playing out as the world looks. We'll break down some of what's going down based off of our reporting at the time of this taping.

President Nicolas Maduro, the now deposed leader of the South American nation, following weeks of rising tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. The unprecedented development unfolded as part of a large-scale American military... strike over the weekend. Maduro is now in custody on U.S. soil where Attorney General Pam Bondi says that he will face charges related to drug trafficking.

and weapons. Venezuela's Supreme Court directed the country's sitting vice president to lead the oil-rich nation, but President Donald Trump says the U.S. will quote, run the country until a change of leadership can take place. lot of opinions about how this all happened. Some world leaders say the US crossed a line and Maduro's abduction was in flagrant violation of international law.

Others, like the leader of Argentina, are praising this operation. One thing that cannot be disputed, Maduro's presidency was extremely controversial. Our Stefano Patsaban has more context on what led to this pivotal moment.

While the scale of the strikes may have come as a surprise, tensions between Venezuela's leader and the United States have been ratcheting up for months. Less than four weeks ago The US Treasury is slapping sanctions of three members of Maduro's family, two of whom were dubbed the narco-nephews from previous drug trafficking convictions. Maduro and his lawyer wife, Silvia Flores,

both cut their teeth during the rule of Hugo Chavez, a socialist revolutionary who served as Venezuela's president from 1999 to 2013. While Flores served as the country's attorney general, It was in Chávez's government that Maduro got his big break as foreign minister, spearheading anti-American policies and bolstering ties to China, Russia and Iran from 2006 to 2013.

After Chavez's death from cancer in 2013, it wasn't long before Maduro stepped into the top job. A loyal disciple of Chavez's socialist ideals, In 2014, Maduro shared his commitment to keeping his legacy alive with CNN's Cristiana Manpur. I know I've been loyal and I'm fulfilling the legacy of this marvelous giant figure who is President Chavez.

and it gives me peace of mind. These ideals didn't help me much in steering Venezuela's economy through challenges like plunging oil prices however. In fact, His failure to manage the country's oil wealth triggered an unprecedented economic collapse. By the time the public took the ballot boxes, in 2024, the anger could be felt from all sides. Despite both Maduro and the opposition party claiming victory, the president managed to salsa his way through the political storm and remain in office.

But in September, the US began striking alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea as President Trump doubled down on his crackdown on narcotics smuggling. And while Maduro told CNN in December he was focused on a message of peace... To unite for the peace of the continent. No more endless wars. No more unjust wars. That call has fallen on their fears.

As this unparalleled situation continues to play out both in Venezuela and here in the United States, the world is eagerly watching for what might come next. That includes millions of Venezuelans who have had to flee their homes over the last decade in a bit.

to escape Maduro's regime. In the neighboring nation of Colombia, crowds of Venezuelan refugees took to the streets of Bogota to celebrate this news. Our David Culver is at a major border checkpoint with more on how this turn of events could impact the flow of citizens in and out of Venezuela. A heavy, reinforced military presence on the Colombian side of the Colombia-Venezuela border. And you can see three armored vehicles here, a fourth over there.

But it's not just military that has set up here on this side of the border, but also we're told humanitarian aid in case anything happens with regards to a rush of individuals. coming here into Colombia. Now let me set the stage a bit for you. This is the border crossing where we are, Cucuta, Colombia. On the other side, you enter Venezuela. And you can see on a Sunday morning...

Traffic is moving rather calmly back and forth. This is pretty typical if you talk to locals. The only difference is the military presence and the press. And you've got many individuals from media across Latin America who have set up here to get a sense of... what could happen next now hukuta is really an interesting town and that this is a pressure valve if you will a real indicator of of what could come next this is a place that really saw a lot of the surge of

outward migration from Venezuela in the past decade plus here in Colombia you have the largest diaspora of Venezuelans some three million according to some estimates And of course, you had Venezuelans who passed through here to then continue up into Central America, through Mexico and into the U.S. Many of them we've met along the way in recent years. And a lot of them reference the instability, the uncertainty, the insecurity.

of living in Venezuela. So the folks here who have made their lives in Cúcuta, for example, they were out in the streets late into the night. In fact, we touched down just before midnight and folks were still out celebrating. You had families.

draping themselves in flags there were a lot of emotions people seemingly very happy what's interesting is when you speak to those individuals those who have been say 10 plus years out of venezuela say they have their lives here in colombia no matter what changes in venezuela they have no real desire to move back but those who have been here less than that and it seems to be a rough average of 10 years or so say they do want to go home

They want to try to re-establish their lives. So this could be a place where we see a few things. You could see folks who are fearing the chaos, fearing more instability, fearing more fracturing coming from Venezuela into Colombia.

you could also see those who are fearing retaliation because perhaps they're aligned with maduro then on this side you could see a reverse migration folks who want to go home want to go back to venezuela and this is where many of them would return on that crossing but on this sunday morning as of now it's tranquil it's not a rush in either direction folks skeptical hopeful

but uncertainty still in place. Pop quiz hotshot in the practice of Buddhism. What does the word Buddha mean? Holy one, wise king, enlightened one, or peaceful leader? If you said Enlightened One, keep shining! In Buddhism, monks work to achieve enlightenment through a long process of understanding, ethical living, and mental training.

Across the United States, a journey for peace is moving forward one step at a time. Right now, a group of 19 Buddhist monks and their dog named Aloka are on a 2,300 mile so-called walk for peace. The walk began on October 26th in Fort Worth, Texas and is set to end in Washington, D.C. in February. Wearing their traditional orange robes, the monks are following ancient monastic traditions of walking.

chanting and relying on community support along the way at each stop they pause for meditation reflection, and public gatherings where they invite local residents to take part in conversations about compassion, detachment from material possessions, and unity. During one stop in Morrow, Georgia, hundreds of people gathered at a community center to see them arrive, offer support, and take part in a peace ceremony.

I was sincerely moved that it was the monks, but I think I would have been moved if anyone were doing it just to walk for peace with the times that we're living in right now. I loved how people are showing love and I feel like with a world with so much hate in it, it's good to see the light and the good and seeing everybody come together for peace.

The group has already passed through several southern states, including Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, now Georgia, and is continuing north towards South Carolina as their journey continues. Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10. A Wisconsin family who transformed their quiet backyard into a hockey rink.

coach jake and his wife jamie decided to swap grass for glass there's only one ice rink in their town and as our midwesterners know in wisconsin especially hockey is life i don't have to go to a rink to skate i can just out to my backyard and like mess around. We're just trying to have fun and be the best. The rink has grown.

every winter, now clocking in at 80 by 40 feet. And it's not just their kids getting to benefit from this rink, their teammates, their friends all come by to slap some slap shots while their parents can stay warm on the porch. all right superstars i have two shout outs to start off our 2026 first up Mr. Sapko and Miss Barry at Koonsmiller Creative Arts Academy in Denver, Colorado, rise up. Thank you for making us a part of your day. And this shout out goes to...

Mrs. Zepeda and our friends shining bright at Herds Middle School in Reno, Nevada. I see you, Liana. Go out, make someone smile today. Remember that you are more powerful than you know. Make it an awesome day, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow. I'm Koi Weir, and we are CNN 10.