Senators dismiss economic impact of Maduro ouster

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January 8, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  Senators doused fears that the US government’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has an economic impact, but they said it could trigger geopolitical tensions at the expense of smaller nations like the Philippines.

At a press briefing at the Senate on Tuesday, Senate finance committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian said the Philippines and Venezuela have modest trade relations.

Oil prices are also not likely to be affected by the US attacks in Venezuela, which has vast yet unutilized oil resources.

“This is my personal opinion, but economically there is no impact, because we have little historical trade with Venezuela,” Gatchalian said.

But Gatchalian expressed fears the US capture of Maduro on a drug trafficking charge and their military intervention for a regime change could embolden other world powers to follow suit.

He cited China and Russia which have their own territorial disputes with other countries – the latter in its invasion of Ukraine, and the former in its sweeping South China Sea claims that overlap with the West Philippine Sea as well as a possible invasion of Taiwan.

“Other countries might be emboldened to do what the US did – a regime change by force that is not done by election. From a geopolitical standpoint, it’s another uncertainty. It’s not good for us,” Gatchalian said.

For her part, Senate foreign relations committee chair Imee Marcos said the US interference in Venezuela’s affairs constituted a violation of international law.

She cited Article 2, Section 4 of the UN Charter, which states that “all Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

Marcos also lamented the “meek” statements from the Department of Foreign Affairs in calling for restraint to prevent escalation of conflict and for peaceful resolution of disputes.

Foreign interventions in domestic affairs also made the senator recall the US role in the plight of her family, who were chased into exile following the downfall of the martial law regime of her father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr.