Hopes for democracy briefly flickered in Venezuela after the United States captured President Nicolás Maduro, who had maintained a dictatorship for about 13 years, but the country soon fell back into a climate of fear as repression returned.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 6th local time, Venezuela was briefly in a celebratory mood after Maduro was arrested by U.S. forces on the 3rd, but the mood swung sharply within days. A transitional government moved to impose strict controls, leading to widespread detentions of journalists and arrests of civilians.
On the 5th, the Venezuelan government published in the official gazette an "emergency proclamation" centered on arresting forces that show support for the United States. Under the proclamation, for the next 90 days, ◇ the right to assemble and demonstrate is suspended, ◇ domestic movement is restricted, and ◇ private property may be seized if deemed necessary. There is also the possibility that the measure could be extended.
The crackdown appeared to intensify the same day as Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president. After taking the oath of office, Rodríguez said, "I stand here carrying the sorrow the Venezuelan people have endured," and appealed, "We feel deep pain over the abduction of two heroes held hostage by the United States, President Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores."
That day, armed militias known as the "colectivos" set up checkpoints across the streets of the capital, Caracas. They have been a symbol of citizen repression from the era of former President Hugo Chávez through the Maduro government, and they led the bloody suppression of anti-government protesters after last year's presidential election. The pro-government militias, including these groups, number a staggering 4.5 million.
Government security forces are also increasing pressure by conducting random checks on civilians and journalists. According to the National Union of Press Workers of Venezuela, at least 14 journalists were detained in a single day, and they were arrested at the National Assembly, where Rodríguez's interim presidential inauguration was held. Eleven of them were foreign correspondents, and some were reportedly searched after their mobile phones were confiscated.
As a grim mood sets in, Caracas is sinking into an uneasy quiet. Residents describe the city as having "a Sunday-like emptiness," while others say it is no different from the days of Maduro's reign of fear. María, a 55-year-old woman who asked to use a pseudonym, told WP, "It's exactly the same situation as right after the 2024 presidential election," expressing fear.
This has prompted criticism that, contrary to former President Trump's confident claim that "the United States will run Venezuela," it remains unclear how much influence Washington can actually wield. Tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue, and Rodríguez dismissed outside involvement by telling U.S. Sen. Rick Scott—who called her a "corrupt leader" and demanded the release of political prisoners—that there are "no 'external forces.'"
As repression intensified, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado urged international monitoring. In an interview with Fox News, Machado said, "Rodríguez is one of the chief architects of torture, persecution, and accumulated corruption," adding, "A very severe level of civic repression is ongoing."