Big Take Podcast

How the US Changed China’s Calculus in Latin America

Former Ambassador Nicholas Burns on China’s plans in Venezuela, Greenland’s future and the pros and perils of Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine.’

US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.Photographer: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images

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By David Gura and Rachael Lewis-Krisky

January 16, 2026 at 10:24 PM UTC

Updated on

January 16, 2026 at 10:34 PM UTC

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For Beijing, the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was a mixed bag -- an embarrassing surprise, a wake-up call over its alliances in Latin America and an opening to step up on the world stage, according to Nicholas Burns, the former US ambassador to China.