The U.S. intervention in Venezuela has triggered global reactions, but it has also revived a surprising pop-culture conversation. As details of the military operation came up, viewers began sharing a scene from ‘Jack Ryan‘ that felt way too similar.
The moment quickly drew attention because of how accurately the show appeared to echo reality. With the clip spreading fast online, ‘Jack Ryan‘ creator Carlton Cuse stepped in to address the comparisons and explain why the similarities exist.
Carlton Cuse Reacts To Jack Ryan-Venezuela Connection
Soon after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela on Saturday, January 3, 2026, a clip from Jack Ryan season 2 went viral. In the scene, CIA analyst Jack Ryan, played by John Krasinski, explains why Venezuela is a serious global concern. He points to a weakened economy, rising poverty, control over oil production, and the country’s close proximity to the United States.
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But the timing was tricky. Around the same period, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and carried out airstrikes in the northern part of the country. Viewers quickly noticed how the show’s visuals, especially helicopters flying over Caracas, closely matched reports and footage from the real operation.
Responding to the attention, Cuse said it always surprises him when real events start resembling fictional stories. He stressed that season 2 was never written to forecast future political moves and that the resemblance was unintentional.
Why The Similarities Feel So Unsettling
Cuse explained that ‘Jack Ryan‘ season 2 wasn’t built around prediction. He said the writing team focused on creating a story that felt believable by using real geopolitical tensions in Venezuela that had persisted for years. According to Cuse, he and co-creator Graham Roland chose Venezuela because it has long struggled to balance democracy and foreign interests.
That made it a natural setting for a political thriller where decisions carry heavy consequences and no outcome is simple. He added that when fiction stays close to real-world conditions, reality sometimes catches up in unexpected ways. The current parallels, he said, only underline how grounded the show’s approach was from the start.
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Despite the similarities, Cuse warned against treating ‘Jack Ryan‘ as a guide to understanding current events. The series remains fictional, unlike real-life situations. In the show, season 2 ends with corruption being exposed and the opposition winning an election. In reality, Venezuela’s future remains uncertain. While Maduro has been captured, there is still no clarity on how the opposition’s widespread public support will lead to what happens next.
