January 14, 2026

 

(THE U.S. REMOVING MADURO SENDS A MESSAGE TO CHINA)

 

January 14, 2026

 

Hello everyone

 

The Social Media ban for under 16’s – what’s been the effect?

Instead of throwing tantrums about the loss of social media access, young people have been flocking to bookstores with their parents. 

Now that’s a turn up for the books. Young people reading.  Anything to placate boredom.

Over December, QBD books recorded a 24 per cent uplift in foot traffic across their stores.  Puzzle sales were up nearly 30 per cent year-on-year over Christmas, and children’s book sales in January are 20 per cent higher than a year ago.

More broadly, Australian book sales were up 3.1 per cent in 2025, according to Nielsen BookScan data.

Australia’s world-leading social media ban gives children space away from screens and backs healthier habits before they head back to school.  A return to reading books and communicating with friends face-to-face is a positive for young people.

One bookstore in Brisbane, called Where the Wild Things Are, has seen a big increase in sales of hands-on activities.

Board games, card games, and activities where you build things have been very popular.  These games bring families together over the holiday period, which encourages communication amongst family members that can lead to a healthier family dynamic.

 

Rio Tinto and Glencore – not a done deal yet.

These two companies restarted merger talks last week.  Rio Tinto investors are on edge that the company could pay too much to secure the deal.  There is also some noise emerging that BHP may even join the bidding war.  All the major miners are looking for more deposits of copper, which is in high demand as the world switches to greater use of electricity.  Glencore is seen as having a strong pipeline of copper opportunities. 

Copper recorded its highest price in 15 years in December at $12,000 per tonne.  BHP has predicted that demand for copper will soar 70 per cent by 2050 as the world electrifies, while at the same time, deposits are becoming harder to find and more expensive to extract.

For this reason, we may see miners leaning toward mergers and acquisitions to afford the building of new mines, which can take up to 10 years to develop.

So, we wait and observe how this story plays out.

 

The U.S. impact on Venezuela

It’s not all good, and it’s not all bad. 

Let me explain.

The positives coming out of this relate to the pressure from the U.S. on the authoritarian regime and the possibility of transition to a democratic system.  U.S. sanctions and diplomatic isolation have aimed to pressure the government of Nicolas Maduro, widely accused of human rights abuses and undermining democracy, to hold free and fair elections.

The U.S. has provided support to democratic opposition movements and civil society, with the goal of facilitating a legitimate and popular government in Venezuela.

U.S. military operations have aimed to disrupt drug trafficking in the Caribbean, with the Trump administration claiming significant success in reducing seaborne trafficking. 

There have been some suggestions that a post-Maduro government, potentially facilitated by U.S. pressure, could unlock international investment and boost oil production, ultimately leading to a more stable economy.

Now, the not so good.

Economic sanctions, particularly the oil embargo, have crippled Venezuela’s main revenue source and limited its access to international finance, contributing to hyperinflation and critical shortages of food, medicine, and basic necessities.  One study attributed an estimated 40,000 additional deaths to the economic conditions caused by sanctions at one point.

It could be argued that U.S. pressure on the Maduro regime may have inadvertently strengthened its control by forcing it to rely more heavily on allies like China and Russia and by allowing it to blame the U.S. for the country’s economic woes. 

The Venezuelan population may bristle at the use of power by the U.S. There is a risk that the spread of anti-American sentiment across Latin America could lead to broader regional destabilisation.

Regime change won’t simply solve all problems in Venezuela.  There are deep-rooted societal issues, poverty, and institutional decay that have been embedded in the country for years.

 

The other reason for the U.S action in Venezuela could be related to China.

Venezuela is one of China’s closest political and economic partners in Latin America.  Relations were consolidated with the rise to power of Hugo Chavez in 1999, based on massive Chinese loans to finance infrastructure and oil exports.  From 2013, Maduro represented a deepening of the relationship.

China currently buys almost all of the oil produced by Venezuela.   It’s a heavy type of crude that requires a complex refining process.  Venezuela’s oil production is around 700,000 barrels per day, but there is much more potential. China has also invested in telecommunications and other strategic sectors, but not all projects have been finalized due to the unstable economic and social environment in the country.

China disapproved of the U.S. action in Venezuela.  It saw the U.S. force as a “clear violation of international law and of the Charter of the United Nations.  China, like Russia and Iran, demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife.

Analysts have argued that Maduro’s capture exposed Beijing’s limited ability to exert its will in the Americas.

Going forward, it is unlikely that China will exercise any practical intervention in favour of Venezuela.  It is highly probable that Xi’s priority will continue to be preserving trade negotiations and the relative stability achieved in the relationship with Washington. The bilateral summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Xi that is scheduled for April in Beijing, is significant.  China is unlikely to jeopardize this event with unexpected geopolitical actions/policies.

The U.S. has sent China a clear message: stay away from the Americas.

 

 

 

 

Cheers

Jacquie