There is a moment when a collapsing state crosses an event horizon and ordinary politics cannot pull it back. Maduro's Venezuela has flirted with that edge for years, and the Jan 3 capture is a dramatic intervention in the trajectory. Still, when Trump says the U.S. will run the country, he risks creating a different singularity: occupation that cannot easily be escaped. The difference between a bridge and a trap is the exit, and the exit must be a date, not a mood. If Rubio's Jan 7 roadmap is real, the recovery phase should prioritize institutions, courts, and services, not a scramble for oil contracts. And the international community, especially neighbors in the region, must have a role, or the legitimacy collapses under its own mass. A temporary administration can reduce harm, but only if it is allergic to permanence.