{"id":181408,"date":"2026-01-11T00:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T06:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/sin-categoria\/venezuela-amid-relief-without-maduro-and-fear-of-chavismo-trump-excludes-the-opposition\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T10:33:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T16:33:02","slug":"venezuela-amid-relief-without-maduro-and-fear-of-chavismo-trump-excludes-the-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/english\/venezuela-amid-relief-without-maduro-and-fear-of-chavismo-trump-excludes-the-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela Amid Relief Without Maduro and Fear of Chavismo: Trump Excludes the Opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One week after the US military intervention that resulted in the capture of dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and the appointment of Maduro\u2019s vice president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, as interim president, Venezuela oscillates between relief over Maduro\u2019s<\/a> fall and fear that the Chavista dictatorship will remain in power, now under the tutelage of President Donald Trump and an internal state of \u201ccivil commotion,\u201d without any clear roadmap toward a democratic transition. <\/p>\n\n

On the program Esta Semana<\/em>, broadcast Sunday, January 11 at 8:00 p.m. on the CONFIDENCIAL<\/strong> YouTube channel due to television censorship in Nicaragua, we spoke with human rights defender Carolina Jimenez, president of the Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA), and journalist Luz Mely Reyes, director of the independent outlet Efecto Cocuyo<\/em>, about Venezuela\u2019s future under the control of the Trump administration. <\/p>\n\n

They spoke about the fear generated by the declared state of \u201ccivil commotion,\u201d about how President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez\u2014winner of the July 28, 2024 elections\u2014has been discarded by Donald Trump, and about the lack of a date for free elections or a justice process without impunity. But, they added, \u201cthere is hope that this could lead to a democratic transition. It\u2019s not what we\u2019re seeing at the moment, but the context is truly different from what it was on January 3.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

What is happening in Venezuela one week after the US military operation that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores? Those images of Maduro imprisoned generated much joy in Venezuela and among the diaspora. How did Venezuelans react to the news that Donald Trump decided to impose Delcy Rodr\u00edguez as interim president in a government tutored by the United States? Was that a surprise to Venezuelans?<\/strong>Luz Mely Reyes, director of Efecto Cocuyo.<\/strong> Totally. It was a surprise. We went from the joy that many expressed to this shock over Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> decision. And now, a week later, with everything still shifting, expectations revolve around whether Trump\u2019s tutelage will function economically\u2014whether there will be some economic stability in the country. And unfortunately, discussions about how to build a path toward democracy\u2014not just changing the head of the dictatorship\u2014still haven\u2019t found space across Venezuelan society. What is the atmosphere in Venezuela today? Is there joy and hope, or fear and uncertainty? Who controls the streets right now? <\/strong>Carolina Jim\u00e9nez, director of WOLA.<\/strong> All the feelings you just listed are present. The country feels relieved seeing Nicolas Maduro\u2014the strongman of the government, or at least its most visible face as de facto president\u2014facing judicial proceedings in the United States. That initially generated surprise, but also relief and joy among the diaspora. But it quickly turned into uncertainty, especially when people saw that power had passed to the Rodriguez siblings, and that there was no real transition process. What we are seeing is a transition without a (democratic) transition. <\/p>\n\n

There is fear. The minute those bombs fell in Caracas and elsewhere, the government responded by issuing a decree of \u201ccivil commotion,\u201d a kind of highly repressive state of exception that means anyone in Venezuela can be detained for advocating a change of government. We already know of at least two elderly people detained in Merida in western Venezuela for publicly expressing joy over Maduro\u2019s capture. <\/p>\n\n

There is also hope, especially among victims\u2019 relatives, who have seen some political prisoners released. There is hope that many more will be freed in a country with more than a thousand political prisoners. And there is hope that this may lead to a democratic transition. It\u2019s not what we\u2019re seeing right now, but the context is truly different from January 3. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Carolina Jim\u00e9nez, president of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), and journalist Luz Mely Reyes, director of the independent media outlet Efecto Cocuyo<\/em>. \/\/Collage: Confidencial <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Who is Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, Maduro\u2019s vice president now serving as interim president? Some media describe her as ideological and a Chavista loyalist, but also pragmatic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Luz Mely Reyes.<\/strong> She is all of that. Although she is firmly on the left\u2014not only as a matter of family background but personal conviction\u2014she doesn\u2019t belong to the first generation of Chavismo. She had a stint during Hugo Chavez\u2019s government, but became more involved after Chavez\u2019s death. She has been labeled from abroad as pragmatic and moderate. I would say she is pragmatic, but not moderate at all. <\/p>\n\n

She has always been aligned with her brother Jorge Rodr\u00edguez\u2014the architect of many negotiation efforts and deals with the United States, and now president of the National Assembly. Both have always been more willing to negotiate on political prisoners and releases. On everything else, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez has been fully committed to Nicolas Maduro\u2019s cause. <\/p>\n\n

Besides Delcy in the presidency and Jorge Rodriguez in the legislature, General Vladimir Padrino remains head of the Army, and Diosdado Cabello heads the Interior Ministry. The power structures of \u201cmadurismo\u201d remain intact. How is Maduro\u2019s dictatorship supposed to be dismantled? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Carolina Jim\u00e9nez. <\/strong>This is a question the US government has been asked many times. The closest thing to a transition plan is the statement given by the Secretary of State outlining three phases: stabilization, recovery, and transition. Stabilization is what we\u2019re seeing now, which implies removing Maduro and installing a government with different authorities. Marco Rubio says this is \u2018stabilization\u2019 because removing those authorities as well might have provoked violent responses from actors unwilling to accept new authorities. But that doesn\u2019t mean the US should stop pushing for political opening under this new government\u2014opening the door to key opposition figures. So far, none of that has been announced. <\/p>\n\n

Mar\u00eda Corina Machado<\/a> is traveling to Washington to speak with President Trump, the outcome remains to been.. Spanish president Pedro Sanchez has said he is willing to mediate between the opposition and Delcy Rodriguez\u2019s de facto government, alongside Lula, Sheinbaum, and Petro. Pieces are moving so hopefully this stabilization phase may lead to democratic opening. <\/p>\n\n

The second phase\u2014economic recovery\u2014is what most interests the United States, because Trump has openly stated his desire for US oil companies to control the Venezuelan oil market.<\/p>\n\n

According to Rubio, the final phase would be transition. But we still don\u2019t know what that means. It will be important for the US to understand, one, that actions should not be unilateral\u2014they should be accompanied by regional governments; two, no phase can occur without democratic civil society actors in Venezuela; and three, timelines and concrete plans must be defined. <\/p>\n\n

If the transition phase is six, seven, eight years out, then from the standpoint of democratic transition, the plan is doomed to fail.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Members of the Bolivarian National Police (CPNB) stand guard in the vicinity of El Helicoide on January 10, 2026, in Caracas, Venezuela. \/\/Photo: EFE\/Miguel Guti\u00e9rrez <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Trump has talked a lot about oil, as if selling Venezuelan oil at market prices and reinjecting the proceeds into the national economy were a kind of panacea. But when you listen to experts in oil and economic development, they say this can only be achieved in the long term, as a result of building development institutions that allow for long-term investment in the oil sector. <\/strong>Luz Mely Reyes.<\/strong> Economists take a strong view based on macro indicators, but I think that if Venezuela<\/a> were to receive an injection of economic resources \u2014 through whatever mechanism, which we don\u2019t yet know \u2014 that would have an immediate impact in the form of small improvements in everyday life. That people, in their daily lives, could see some improvement in income, through a very fast plan to reactivate the economy \u2014 not at an intensive level like oil, but rather on a more broad-based level and by redistributing that income, which is in fact the Venezuelan model, a rentier model. That could have an immediate impact in small improvements that would be very highly valued by the population. You spoke about the expectations of the victims. The release of all political prisoners is still pending; at the time we are recording this program, only a very small number have been freed. You also mentioned that Maduro will be tried in court for narco-terrorism. But international justice has been pursuing Maduro for crimes against humanity, and there are ongoing investigations into other members of the regime\u2019s leadership. Will there be justice in Venezuela? <\/strong>Carolina Jim\u00e9nez.<\/strong> If there is no justice, there is no transition. It would be very difficult to have a transition process in Venezuela if the victims, who number in the thousands, do not feel that their dignity has been restored. <\/p>\n\n

Venezuela has the only open investigation before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. That is an indicator of the scale of the crimes the Venezuelan state has committed against its own population. We are facing a society that carries deep wounds. If those victims are not repaired, in their integrity and in the dignity that was violated, it is very difficult for there to be a real transition process. <\/p>\n\n

What should that justice look like for Venezuelans? How should it be built? This is an open debate, because we do need justice, but we also need a democratic transition, we need a change of government, and that will probably include figures from Chavismo within transitional governments. <\/p>\n\n

That does not mean there should be impunity. We have to build our own justice process; we cannot accept a blank check for impunity. We must build a comprehensive system of transitional justice in Venezuela, and we have to make sure that a transition does not simply become a context of impunity. What role does President-elect Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia play in this process, and I don\u2019t know whether he has any role at all in the United States\u2019 plan? He won the July 28, 2024 election with more than 67 percent of the vote and embodies the legitimacy of that election.<\/strong>Luz Mely Reyes.<\/strong> From the Donald Trump government\u2019s perspective, he has no role at all. In fact, when they alluded to the electoral process, when they talk about laying out a roadmap for a democratic transition, what they suggest is that everything ends in a new election, and that this real transitional government, not the current one, does not appear to be led by Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia. <\/p>\n\n

However, I think the role he is playing right now, together with Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, has to do with another actor on the global stage: the European Union. Just as the European Union had to step in when Donald Trump dismissed President Zelensky, it has also declared that a democratic transition in Venezuela must be built. That is where Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia can play a major role. And in fact, almost within hours of Maduro\u2019s ouster, he put forward the thread that could guide that transition, the release of political prisoners. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Relatives of political prisoners in Venezuela hold candles at a vigil on January 10, 2026, outside El Helicoide in Caracas, Venezuela. \/\/Photo: EFE\/Miguel Guti\u00e9rrez <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

At this moment in Venezuela, is there freedom of assembly, freedom of movement? Can people go out to demonstrate and celebrate Maduro\u2019s departure or demand change, or is the country under a kind of police state?<\/strong>Luz Mely Reyes.<\/strong> The decree of internal commotion reduces the chances that dissidents or groups that do not support the dictatorship can take to the streets. Which groups have been able to mobilize? The ones that have always been protected by the government, and they do so under the protection of the Armed Forces, the police, and paramilitary groups. Recently, when the new National Assembly was installed \u2014 which has nothing to do with a change of government and was elected in May of last year \u2014 one of the deputies wore a T-shirt that said \u201cFreedom for political prisoners,\u201d and that person was attacked inside Parliament itself. Carolina Jim\u00e9nez<\/strong>. That day, when the new National Assembly was established, 14 journalists and media workers were detained, and a foreign journalist was deported. What was their crime? Reporting. Fortunately, they were later released, but it sent a very bad signal. <\/p>\n\n

What is happening in Venezuela we know through coverage by Venezuelan press on the ground, and also through international media, but are independent Venezuelan outlets like Efecto Cocuyo<\/em> and others blocked by the regime? Is the digital blockade still in place, or can people access them?<\/strong>Luz Mely Reyes.<\/strong> The digital blockade continues, legal harassment continues, stigmatization continues, surveillance continues. Recently, several journalists from independent outlets were able to attend the headquarters of the Political Police, where 65 political prisoners are held, and we saw it as progress that these journalists could be there to monitor what was happening. It was a small step forward. However, the city of C\u00facuta has become something like a dormitory city for dozens of international journalists who are trying to enter Venezuela but are not allowed in. The only people they do not let in are journalists. <\/p>\n\n

This approach of controlling information still affects independent Venezuelan media. Journalists cannot sign their pieces and cannot appear publicly while covering critical issues. They are doing their work anonymously, and those of us in exile are being supported by journalists on the ground.<\/p>\n\n

What can we expect in the coming week? What events or signals might indicate that things are moving toward a democratic transition or not? <\/strong>Luz Mely Reyes<\/strong>. It is still not moving toward a democratic transition, and I do not think that will happen in a week. The process is moving toward stabilization of the regime, and that involves meetings in Colombia with President Petro, meetings with members of the U.S. State Department, and there is already a delegation of U.S. diplomats in Venezuela. One thing that will likely continue is the release of political prisoners. What happens is that in Venezuela there are more than 800 political prisoners, and the number has even been increasing because many people had not filed complaints out of fear. Now that this movement has begun, they have turned to human rights organizations. So the first thing we will see is that. In this effort to stabilize, it is very likely that the regime will appeal to this mantra of unity. They will try to bring back figures who were emblematic of Chavismo, who moved to the opposition but never renounced Chavismo itself, only Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. Strategically, this will benefit them to maintain calm within the Armed Forces and also to reconnect with the Chavista base. Mar\u00eda Corina Machado is going to meet with Donald Trump next week. Is there any expectation that this will have some impact, or is it just a formal encounter between Trump and the Nobel Peace Prize winner? <\/strong>Carolina Jim\u00e9nez.<\/strong> Trump is one of the most unpredictable leaders in the political history of the United States. One of the things you learn over time, working on democracy and human rights issues with his involvement, is that he changes a lot based on his instincts, because he is a businessman and he operates in that way. It was very interesting to see how he spoke very badly about Brazil and Brazilian politics one day, and then at the United Nations he praised Lula da Silva, and the rest is history. I suppose Bolsonaro must be begging him to change his mind, because today Lula and Trump are friends. <\/p>\n\n

And now Petro.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Carolina Jim\u00e9nez.<\/strong> And now he is friends with Petro. So Trump\u2019s character sometimes plays a big role in determining where his foreign policy goes. We have to take into account that this is an election year in the United States, and there are different versions in the polls. In general, Americans view Maduro\u2019s departure positively, but there is not necessarily strong support for military action as such. <\/p>\n\n

For Trump, a stable Venezuela will be very important, because a Venezuela that requires a lot of investment from the United States is not going to be well received by his base. That will ultimately be his main political calculation, especially with internal elections that are very important to him. If he loses, or if his party loses at least the House of Representatives in Congress, everything would seem to indicate he could lose it all.We are all going to have our eyes glued to the screens on the day he finally meets with Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, because beyond her praising him in public and what we see Trump say, that is a very complex relationship. How that meeting unfolds and what consequences it has could also shape changes in what is happening in Venezuela today. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One week after the US military intervention that resulted in the capture of dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and the appointment of Maduro\u2019s vice president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, as interim president, Venezuela oscillates between relief over Maduro\u2019s fall and fear that the Chavista dictatorship will remain in power, now under the tutelage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":181357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15445],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVenezuela Amid Relief Without Maduro and Fear of Chavismo: Trump Excludes the Opposition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Venezuelans demand a democratic transition, without political prisoners, with free elections, and justice without impunity, according to Luz Mely Reyes and Carolina Jim\u00e9nezJim\u00e9nez\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/english\/venezuela-amid-relief-without-maduro-and-fear-of-chavismo-trump-excludes-the-opposition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Venezuela Amid Relief Without Maduro and Fear of Chavismo: Trump Excludes the Opposition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Venezuelans demand a democratic transition, without political prisoners, with free elections, and justice without impunity, according to Luz Mely Reyes and Carolina Jim\u00e9nezJim\u00e9nez\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/english\/venezuela-amid-relief-without-maduro-and-fear-of-chavismo-trump-excludes-the-opposition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Confidencial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/confidencial.com.ni\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-11T06:25:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-14T16:33:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Delcy-Rodriguez.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlos F. 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