Guest Perspective
By an independent financial advisor with 45 years of experience

I woke up on January 3, 2026, in Aruba, just 16 miles from Venezuela, to news I didn’t expect to hear on vacation.

The headlines said the U.S. military had taken President Nicolás Maduro into custody. Almost immediately, all flights in and out of Aruba were canceled.

Speculation was rampant as my sons and their families were supposed to fly out Saturday and could not extend their stay at their hotels.  People were emotionally engaged at the front desk of the hotel and with their airlines.

After 45 years as a financial advisor, crises are not new to me. So, I said something that, at the time, sounded more like reassurance than certainty: “I do not know how, but by Sunday evening, things will start to be sorted out.”  As I drove my son to the airport Sunday evening, I heard something I had not heard over the past 36hours, “Dad, you were right.”