Americans have mixed reaction to the U.S. removal of Venezuelan president
Washington DC, January 5, 2026 – Americans are split over U.S. military action in Venezuela to remove President Nicolas Maduro: 33% say they approve of the U.S. removing the Venezuelan president compared with 34% who disapprove and 32% who say they are not sure, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll fielded shortly after the U.S. capture of Maduro.
While views of the action are mixed, Americans express caution over broader engagement in Venezuela. About three-quarters say they are very or somewhat concerned that the U.S. will become ‘too involved’ in the situation and similar shares express concern about financial costs and potential risks to U.S. military personnel.
Positive views are seen in some expectations for the country of Venezuela. On balance, more Americans think that the removal of Maduro will make the country more stable than less stable over the long term. And more think the quality of life for the people of Venezuela will get better than worse in the next year.
This Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted January 4-5, 2025, among 1,248 Americans.
Detailed Findings
1. Americans have mixed views of the U.S. military action in Venezuela.
- A majority of Americans have heard at least a little about the U.S. military’s actions in Venezuela (87%), with 42% of Americans saying they have heard “a lot” about it.
- Americans are mixed on the U.S. military’s action in Venezuela to remove Maduro, with 33% approving, 34% disapproving, and 32% unsure how to feel about it.
- On balance, Americans lean against the U.S. governing Venezuela until a new Venezuelan government is established (44% oppose, 34% support, 20% unsure) and the U.S. taking control of oil fields in Venezuela (46% oppose, 29% support, 22% unsure).
2. Concerns over U.S. engagement exist alongside some optimism about the impact for Venezuelans.
- A majority express concern about potential risk to the lives of American military personnel (74%), the U.S. becoming too involved in the situation in Venezuela (72%), and the financial costs of U.S. involvement in Venezuela (69%).
- Views tilt positive on the overall impact on Venezuela: by a 41% to 30% margin, Americans think the removal of Maduro will make the country of Venezuela more stable rather than less stable in the long term.
- By a 38% to 21% margin, Americans feel U.S. actions will make the quality of life for people in Venezuela better rather than worse in the next year. Similarly, more think the fairness of democratic elections in Venezuela will get better (34%) rather than worse (16%).
3. Many Americans see access to oil as part of U.S. motivations in Venezuela.
- By 51% to 23%, more agree than disagree with the statement that the U.S. “conducted military strikes against Venezuela to get more access to Venezuela’s oil.” Sentiment is less widespread that the U.S. conducted military strikes against Venezuela to reduce drug trafficking (41% agree vs. 34% disagree).
- In foreign affairs generally, 65% say the U.S. military should only be involved in conflicts when the United States faces a direct and imminent threat.
- Americans express limited support for the idea that the U.S. should “have a policy of dominating affairs in the Western Hemisphere”: 26% agree with this statement, compared with 39% who disagree and 32% who say they’re not sure.
About the Study
This poll was conducted January 4-5, 2026, by Ipsos on behalf of Reuters, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,248 general population adults aged 18 or older.
The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race and ethnicity, census region, metropolitan status, education, household income, 2024 vote choice and political party identification. Political party identification benchmarks are from the 2025 NPORS annual survey. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- 2024 Vote Choice (Trump, Harris, Another candidate, Did not vote)
- Political Party ID (Democrat, Lean Democrat, Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Something else)
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.05. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Alec Tyson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
Annaleise Azevedo Lohr
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
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