Venezuelans reflect on Maduro’s removal, grappling with hope and fear

It was his 26th birthday, truthful Wilmer Castro was not amazed by the flurry of messages that lit up his phone.

However, arsenic helium began scrolling connected Saturday morning, helium realised the messages were not day wishes, but quality of thing helium had agelong hoped for: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been removed from power.

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“I deliberation it is the champion acquisition that I volition ever receive, 1 I volition ne'er forget,” the assemblage pupil said from Ejido.

Castro told Al Jazeera that helium was truthful elated by the quality that helium began daydreaming astir his aboriginal aforesaid recounting the communicative of Maduro’s autumn to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“I volition archer them that connected January 3, 2026, a dictator fell, and [that moment] is going to beryllium precise beautiful.”

The abduction of Venezuela’s long-time authoritarian person – and his woman – by the United States followed months of escalating tensions betwixt the 2 countries, including US strikes connected alleged drug-trafficking vessels and the deployment of US ships adjacent Venezuela’s coastal waters.

But by Sunday morning, Castro’s archetypal jubilation was clouded by a dense quiet. The value of uncertainty brought the metropolis to a sombre pause, 1 that closed successful connected him and felt dissimilar thing helium had experienced before.

“It’s similar being successful a tract with thing other around. It’s a mournful silence; I can’t picture it,” helium said.

That uncertainty was felt by galore Venezuelans connected Sunday morning.

Venezuela has had a socialist authorities since 1999, archetypal nether President Hugo Chavez and aboriginal Maduro, a play that began with oil-funded societal programmes but unravelled into economical mismanagement, corruption and repression – with planetary sanctions further squeezing the population.

Momentum astir the 2024 statesmanlike predetermination raised hopes that the absorption confederation would instrumentality control. But erstwhile Maduro declared victory, contempt absorption claims of a landslide triumph for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a crackdown connected dissent followed. It near galore Venezuelans concluding that immoderate existent modulation mightiness beryllium connected unit — oregon adjacent involution — from extracurricular the country.

‘Deathly silence’

In southeastern Caracas connected Saturday, 54-year-old Edward Ocariz was jolted awake by a large clang and the vibrating windows of his location adjacent the Fort Tiuna subject barracks. He thought it was an earthquake, but erstwhile helium looked outside, helium saw unfamiliar helicopters flying debased supra fume rising successful the city.

“The sound kept coming,” helium said. “I could instantly archer the helicopters were not Venezuelan due to the fact that I had ne'er seen them here.”

Then, conscionable arsenic abruptly arsenic it had started, it stopped.

“There was a deathly silence,” Ocariz said, adding that the little suspension of mobile telephone services and powerfulness outages contributed to the silence. “We were waiting to recognize what was happening.”

Fear accompanied the fragments of accusation that did negociate to seep through, Ocariz said. “But it was a fearfulness mixed with joyousness – tremendous joy. It’s hard to explain.”

On Sunday, erstwhile images of a blindfolded and handcuffed Maduro began circulating, Ocariz reflected connected the suffering helium had endured nether the president’s regime.

The quality rights activistic said helium was wrongfully charged with “terrorism” and spent astir 5 months arsenic a governmental captive successful Tocuyito prison, a maximum-security installation successful Carabobo state.

Under Maduro, the state had a agelong past of jailing those who dissent. After the disputed 2024 election, astir 2,500 protesters, quality rights activists, journalists and absorption figures were arrested. While immoderate were aboriginal released, others stay down bars.

“I felt satisfied. A process of justness is yet beginning,” Ocariz said, afloat alert that Maduro volition not person to endure the dire situation conditions helium did, oregon beryllium denied nutrient and ineligible representation.

Despite the joyousness helium and different Venezuelans present feel, Ocariz warns that overmuch remains to beryllium done.

“The colonisation inactive feels a immense magnitude of fearfulness [from the authorities] — intelligence fearfulness — due to the fact that it’s good known however the constabulary and justness strategy usage their powerfulness to criminalise whoever they choose.”

So far, cardinal institutions stay successful the hands of figures from Nicolas Maduro’s interior circle, including Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who has been named acting president.

But for galore Venezuelans — including Castro and Ocariz — seeing a elder Chavista fig inactive successful powerfulness is unsettling, peculiarly arsenic the Trump medication continues to prosecute with her.

“It is surely frustrating for me. However, I recognize that Venezuela needs to proceed with its administrative, functional, and operational absorption arsenic a country, arsenic a nation,” Ocariz said, adding that the US indispensable support immoderate bid to power the powerfulness vacuum and stamp retired repression.

Economic concerns

Venezuela remains heavy militarised, and fears of further unrest linger. During periods of dissent, the authorities relied not lone connected ceremonial information forces but besides connected “colectivos”, equipped civilian groups accused by rights organisations of intimidation and violence.

Jose Chalhoub, an vigor and governmental hazard expert astatine Jose Parejo & Associates successful Caracas, said helium is acrophobic astir the anticipation of much attacks and societal unrest.

“Any imaginable caller authorities that volition determination up with the cleansing of the apical ranks of the equipped forces and information and constabulary forces volition pb to the disarmament of the colectivos,” helium said, adding that fixing the lingering economical situation should besides beryllium 1 of the main priorities.

“A caller authorities that applies speedy economical measures starring to a betterment volition outshine the ideological bequest of the Bolivarian revolution,” helium said, referring to the ideology of Chavismo, defined by anti-imperialism, patriotism and socialism.

Those loyal to Maduro person agelong blamed Venezuela’s economical woes connected the US — namely, the sanctions it imposed connected the lipid sector.

Chalhoub said helium believed Trump’s committedness to boost the country’s lipid accumulation could assistance the economy, though helium recovered the US president’s assertion that the US volition “run the country” baffling.

However, not everyone is blessed with the Trump administration’s attack.

Alex Rajoy, a mototaxi operator successful Caracas, said the US president was connected an imperialist crusade with the extremity of “robbing” Venezuela of its earthy resources.

Despite his anger, Rajoy said helium volition enactment location implicit the coming days due to the fact that helium is fearful of further attacks.

“These missiles aren’t aimed lone astatine Chavistas,” helium said, referring to those loyal to Venezuela’s socialist ideology.

“They endanger absorption people, too,” helium said, adding that anyone supporting overseas involution amounts to a betrayal. “It’s treason against the homeland,” helium said.

What now?

For Castro, the assemblage student, the elation helium felt connected Saturday has been interrupted by fearfulness for his contiguous needs – concerns implicit whether stores would stay unfastened successful Ejido and rising costs. Under Maduro, helium has agelong struggled to spend basal items.

“People successful the thoroughfare were going brainsick yesterday,” helium said. “Everyone was buying nutrient with fractional of what they had successful their slope accounts, buying what they could, due to the fact that we don’t cognize what the aboriginal holds.”

The scenes brought backmost memories of the shortages of 2016, erstwhile hyperinflation and scarcity plunged the state into crisis, forcing radical to queue for hours and unreserved betwixt shops with limits connected however overmuch each idiosyncratic could buy.

But a time aft the attack, Castro said Venezuelans are reflecting connected the aboriginal of their state and the uncertainty of that future.

“There’s happiness, there’s fear, there’s gratitude, there’s the ‘what volition hap next?’” helium said. “For my adjacent birthday, I privation full state for Venezuela – and hopefully, God willing, we volition person it.”