Venezuela and the Global Outlook for 2026

With Venezuela thrust into crisis after the abrupt removal of Nicolás Maduro, what comes next and what does it signal about the world in 2026? In this episode of the Teneo Insights Series, host Kevin Kajiwara is joined by Teneo Managing Directors Nicholas Watson, Carsten Nickel and Emily Stromquist, alongside Nick Zimmerman, Senior Advisor at WestExec Advisors and former White House National Security Council Director for Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs, to assess how the operating environment is evolving and what to watch across the government, military, opposition and interested international parties. The conversation then widens beyond Venezuela to consider how geopolitics and a fragmented trade environment are reshaping great-power competition, straining Europe’s strategic position and raising the stakes for democracies and corporate leaders navigating uncertainty in the year ahead.