logo
episode-header-image
Yesterday
26m 58s

Who is really running Venezuela?

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Venezuelans are still searching through the rubble a month after two devastating earthquakes, which left thousands dead and tens of thousands more still missing.

The disaster came at a moment of acute political and economic uncertainty, following the toppling of president Nicolas Maduro. The new government is led by Delcy Rodriguez, with US oversight, and the Trump administration has taken control of Venezuela’s lucrative oil industry – to the tune of billions of dollars. But where is that money now?

The BBC’s Will Grant reports from Venezuela, and has spoken to survivors, grieving families, and government officials leading the response.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Workers use a jackhammer on debris from a collapsed building, in Caraballeda, La Guaira, Venezuela. Credit: Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria.

Up next
Jul 23
Trump v Carney round two
President Trump has announced a new round of tariffs against a range of Canadian goods, including hockey sticks and cement. Trump says the tariffs are in retaliation for what he called Canada’s “unequal treatment” of US cars, dairy and alcohol. But earlier in the week he also thr ... Show More
27m 6s
Jul 22
British CPAC: Can MAGA politics be exported to the UK?
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is a mainstay of the US political calendar, a barometer of the Republican party mood, and has become, in recent years, a pro-Trump event, with a big budget and crowds in the thousands. Its first outing to the United Kingdom last ... Show More
27m 35s
Jul 22
Is the Iran war back on?
The US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth faced senators on Tuesday as the White House asked for tens of billions of dollars more to help fund the Iran war.It comes after over a week of consecutive US strikes, the deaths of several US service members, and the Iran-backed Houthis anno ... Show More
27m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
Drum Tower: Tick tock for TikTok
On March 13th America’s House of Representatives passed a bill that could ban TikTok nationwide unless its Chinese owner, Bytedance, agrees to sell its stake.  Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, and David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, look at China’s side o ... Show More
38m 28s
Apr 2024
TikTok and its possible US ban - here’s what happens next…
Only two months ago Joe Biden joined the social media platform TikTok with a video captioned "lol hey guys". Now, the US president is poised to sign a bill that could ban the popular app - unless its parent company sells it.  <br />  <br />The country is concerned that TikTok's o ... Show More
20m 26s
Oct 2020
The TikTok election
TikTok has become one of the political stories in the run up to the US elections, exposing America's distrust of China. But its users and influencers could help decide who takes the White House. Journalist Sophia Smith Galer enters the hype houses of TikTok to find out how influe ... Show More
52m 4s
Sep 2025
Inside the TikTok deal: the politics of the algorithm
TikTok’s feed is famous for knowing users better than they know themselves. Now, a US deal could put that power in the hands of Trump allies and tech giants. What might change for the 170 million Americans on the app – and what does this fight reveal about control of speech and d ... Show More
23m 30s
Apr 2024
How will the US TikTok ban affect me?
President Biden has just signed a law that says TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance has nine months to sell the app or it will be blocked in the US. We hear what TikTok users in the US think about the ban - and how it would affect them. Liv McMahon from the BBC tech team explains w ... Show More
14m 18s
Mar 2024
Is TikTok about to be banned in America?
The US House have voted to force TikTok to either part ways from Chinese-owned company ByteDance or be banned in the US. Why now? Why is Trump actually not that fussed? And does this benefit or hinder Biden's efforts to capture the youth vote through social media?This, all as Tru ... Show More
29m 18s
Mar 2023
How TikTok Became a Matter of National Security
<p>TikTok, the app known for short videos of lip syncing, dancing and bread baking, is one of the most popular platforms in the country, used by one out of every three Americans.</p><p>In recent weeks, the Biden administration has threatened to ban it over concerns that it poses ... Show More
28m 50s