1. The News: The "Recovery Period" of 18 Months
Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, during Operation Lanza del Sur, #DonaldTrump has been very direct. In his most recent interviews (like the one with NBC), he has made it clear that:
There will be no elections soon: He has ruled out elections for 2026, stating that "first the country must be fixed" and that people do not even have the conditions to vote.
U.S. Oversight: He has appointed a management team (with Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth) to oversee the transition alongside Delcy Rodríguez, who has taken over as acting president.
The focus is oil: The 18-month timeframe is not arbitrary; it is the time they estimate necessary to rebuild the oil infrastructure and stabilize the economy before calling for elections.
2. How does this affect the world of Cryptos?
This scenario of "supervised transition" generates three immediate effects in the market that you should watch for, especially if you follow Binance Square topics:
Geopolitical Uncertainty = Bitcoin Up: Historically, when there are conflicts or interventions of this kind, Bitcoin acts as a refuge. The fact that the U.S. is "governing" de facto a oil-rich country generates international tensions (especially with China and Russia), which pushes investors towards decentralized assets.
The "Petro-Effect": If the U.S. manages to reactivate Venezuelan crude oil in those 18 months, the price of oil could fall globally. This reduces inflation and typically causes the Federal Reserve (Fed) to lower interest rates, which is pure oxygen for cryptos, as investors are more willing to risk buying digital assets.
Use of Crypto as Local Lifeline: With the Venezuelan economy in a "repair" phase and the banking system under U.S. audit, it is very likely that the use of stablecoins (like USDT) and Bitcoin will surge in the country for daily transactions, increasing the trading volume in the region.
