abduction<\/a> of Venezuela\u2019s long-time authoritarian leader \u2013 and his wife \u2013 by the United States followed months of escalating tensions between the two countries, including US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels and the deployment of US ships near Venezuela\u2019s coastal waters.<\/p>\nBut by Sunday morning, Castro\u2019s initial jubilation was clouded by a heavy quiet. The weight of uncertainty brought the city to a sombre pause, one that closed in on him and felt unlike anything he had experienced before.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like being in a field with nothing else around. It\u2019s a mournful silence; I can\u2019t describe it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That uncertainty was felt by many Venezuelans on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
Venezuela has had a socialist government since 1999, first under President Hugo Chavez and later Maduro, a period that began with oil-funded social programmes but unravelled into economic mismanagement, corruption and repression \u2013 with international sanctions further squeezing the population.<\/p>\n
Momentum around the 2024 presidential election raised hopes that the opposition alliance would take control. But when Maduro declared victory, despite opposition claims of a landslide win for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a crackdown on dissent followed. It left many Venezuelans concluding that any real transition might depend on pressure \u2014 or even intervention \u2014 from outside the country.<\/p>\n
\u2018Deathly silence\u2019<\/h2>\n
In southeastern Caracas on Saturday, 54-year-old Edward Ocariz was jolted awake by a loud crash and the vibrating windows of his home near the Fort Tiuna military barracks. He thought it was an earthquake, but when he looked outside, he saw unfamiliar helicopters flying low above smoke rising in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe noise kept coming,\u201d he said. \u201cI could immediately tell the helicopters were not Venezuelan because I had never seen them here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a deathly silence,\u201d Ocariz said, adding that the brief suspension of mobile phone services and power outages contributed to the silence. \u201cWe were waiting to understand what was happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fear accompanied the fragments of information that did manage to seep through, Ocariz said. \u201cBut it was a fear mixed with joy \u2013 tremendous joy. It\u2019s hard to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, when images of a blindfolded and handcuffed Maduro began circulating, Ocariz reflected on the suffering he had endured under the president\u2019s regime.<\/p>\n
The human rights activist said he was wrongfully charged with \u201cterrorism\u201d and spent nearly five months as a political prisoner in Tocuyito prison, a maximum-security facility in Carabobo state.<\/p>\n
Under Maduro, the country had a long history of jailing those who dissent. After the disputed 2024 election, nearly 2,500 protesters, human rights activists, journalists and opposition figures were arrested. While some were later released, others remain behind bars.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt satisfied. A process of justice is finally beginning,\u201d Ocariz said, fully aware that Maduro will not have to endure the dire prison conditions he did, or be denied food and legal representation.<\/p>\n
Despite the joy he and other Venezuelans now feel, Ocariz warns that much remains to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe population still feels a huge amount of fear [from the authorities] \u2014 psychological fear \u2014 because it\u2019s well known how the police and justice system use their power to criminalise whoever they choose.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, key institutions remain in the hands of figures from Nicolas Maduro\u2019s inner circle, including Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who has been named acting president.<\/p>\n
But for many Venezuelans \u2014 including Castro and Ocariz \u2014 seeing a senior Chavista figure still in power is unsettling, particularly as the Trump administration continues to engage with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is certainly frustrating for me. However, I understand that Venezuela needs to continue with its administrative, functional, and operational management as a country, as a nation,\u201d Ocariz said, adding that the US must maintain some order to control the power vacuum and stamp out repression.<\/p>\n
![\"INTERACTIVE](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/INTERACTIVE-US-Venezuela-relations-in-2025-JAN-4-2026-1767520761.png?quality=80\")
<\/p>\n
Economic concerns<\/h2>\n
Venezuela remains heavily militarised, and fears of further unrest linger. During periods of dissent, the authorities relied not only on formal security forces but also on \u201ccolectivos\u201d, armed civilian groups accused by rights organisations of intimidation and violence.<\/p>\n
Jose Chalhoub, an energy and political risk analyst at Jose Parejo & Associates in Caracas, said he is concerned about the possibility of more attacks and social unrest.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny potential new government that will move ahead with the cleansing of the top ranks of the armed forces and security and police forces will lead to the disarmament of the colectivos,\u201d he said, adding that fixing the lingering economic crisis should also be one of the main priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cA new government that applies quick economic measures leading to a recovery will outshine the ideological legacy of the Bolivarian revolution,\u201d he said, referring to the ideology of Chavismo, defined by anti-imperialism, patriotism and socialism.<\/p>\n
Those loyal to Maduro have long blamed Venezuela\u2019s economic woes on the US \u2014 namely, the sanctions it imposed on the oil sector.<\/p>\n
Chalhoub said he believed Trump\u2019s promise to boost the country\u2019s oil production could help the economy, though he found the US president\u2019s assertion that the US will \u201crun the country\u201d baffling.<\/p>\n
However, not everyone is happy with the Trump administration\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n
Alex Rajoy, a mototaxi driver in Caracas, said the US president was on an imperialist crusade with the goal of \u201crobbing\u201d Venezuela of its natural resources.<\/p>\n
Despite his anger, Rajoy said he will stay home over the coming days because he is fearful of further attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese missiles aren\u2019t aimed only at Chavistas,\u201d he said, referring to those loyal to Venezuela\u2019s socialist ideology.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey threaten opposition people, too,\u201d he said, adding that anyone supporting foreign intervention amounts to a betrayal. \u201cIt\u2019s treason against the homeland,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
What now?<\/h2>\n
For Castro, the university student, the elation he felt on Saturday has been interrupted by fear for his immediate needs \u2013 concerns over whether stores would remain open in Ejido and rising costs. Under Maduro, he has long struggled to afford basic items.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople in the street were going crazy yesterday,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone was buying food with half of what they had in their bank accounts, buying what they could, because we don\u2019t know what the future holds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The scenes brought back memories of the shortages of 2016, when hyperinflation and scarcity plunged the country into crisis, forcing people to queue for hours and rush between shops with limits on how much each person could buy.<\/p>\n
But a day after the attack, Castro said Venezuelans are reflecting on the future of their country and the uncertainty of that future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s happiness, there\u2019s fear, there\u2019s gratitude, there\u2019s the \u2018what will happen next?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cFor my next birthday, I want total freedom for Venezuela \u2013 and hopefully, God willing, we will have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was his 26th birthday, so Wilmer Castro was not surprised by the flurry of messages that lit up his phone. However, as he began scrolling on Saturday morning, he realised the messages were not birthday wishes, but news of something he had long hoped for: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been removed from power. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}