On the streets of Caracas, there is fear, uncertainty, and great caution, but also hope. The extraction operation that removed Nicolas Maduro, carried out by the United States in the early hours of Saturday, January 3, 2026, kept Venezuela on edge and its capital literally awake. Many still have the deafening noise of the planes etched in their minds. Yet the future is far from clear. <\/p>\n\n
On Thursday, January 8, 2026, US President Donald Trump hinted, in an interview with the New York Times, that the current situation could drag on for years: \u201cOnly time will tell,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cThere is a lot of anxiety about what will come after Maduro\u2019s fall, because Caracas\u2019 political elite is still there in power,\u201d says Jesus Renzullo, a Venezuelan researcher at GIGA. According to Renzullo, how Venezuelans analyze the situation largely depends on whether \u201cthe person speaking is free to talk and, in this case, those outside Venezuela have more advantages.\u201d It also depends on whether one can \u201cemotionally distance\u201d oneself\u2014something that is quite difficult. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cMaduro\u2019s vice president, now interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, remains in power, and the fact is that the repressive and security apparatus is still active,\u201d Renzullo says from Hamburg. In Venezuela, he explains, the streets are full of police and so-called colectivos, pro-Chavista paramilitary groups, who inspect cell phones and cars and arrest \u201cpeople who have messages against the government.\u201d Renzullo notes that \u201cfourteen journalists have been arrested, some of them already released.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Many reporters are afraid to go out with their equipment. \u201cBecause if they catch you with a camera, it\u2019s a big deal, they can take you,\u201d one of them tells DW anonymously. People, too, are reluctant to speak on the record, although some do. <\/p>\n\n
While opposition groups\u2014who have in the past organized massive demonstrations\u2014remain on hold, the government side is occupying the streets. \u201cWe are outraged, but also very, very motivated to defend our homeland,\u201d Hilda C. tells DW. She hopes to be able to say to Trump: \u201cYou don\u2019t know, you have no idea, of the moral, revolutionary, and libertarian stature of the Bolivarian people, of the Venezuelan people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
The ousted president, however, \u201chad no real support among the Venezuelan population,\u201d says Renzullo. \u201cThe last polls in 2024 already had Maduro below ten percent popularity,\u201d he recalls. And this is also noticeable among those who dare to speak in the streets. \u201cWhat we have here is a cycle that had already come to an end, that already deserved a change\u2026 and it happened, perhaps not through the most ideal path,\u201d says consultant Hector R., who sees Maduro\u2019s fall as \u201cthe chronicle of a death foretold.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Regarding the decision to name Delcy Rodr\u00edguez as Maduro\u2019s successor, Hector R. says that \u201cit seems it was the most prudent choice: first, because it complies with the Constitution, and second, because it\u2019s the beginning of a change where many elements remain the same.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado has said that Delcy Rodr\u00edguez is the \u201carchitect\u201d of all human rights violations in the country, but some sectors view her as competent and someone who at least delivers results. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cIn the business world there are good communication channels with the vice president, now acting president,\u201d says Asdrubal Oliveros, director of Ecoanal\u00edtica. With her as economy minister, \u201cthere was a shift compared to what was happening before, when Chavismo practically despised business owners and there was no direct communication,\u201d he explains. But it is unclear how she \u201cwill manage to unite the different Chavista factions, especially after such a traumatic event.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
\u201cObviously, it is a change, a transition\u2026 maybe not as sweeping as expected, but a transition nonetheless,\u201d Oliveros says. \u201cAnd hopefully\u2014this is the wish of Venezuelans\u2014this will lead to more solid institutional agreements and to a democratization of the country, which is so badly needed,\u201d he adds. Although for now, what exists in Caracas is a government that, in the words of analyst Ricardo Rios, quoted by AFP, is being \u201chacked\u201d by Trump, who \u201cmakes it work for him,\u201d at least when it comes to oil. In other areas, Rodriguez maintains she governs without pressure. <\/p>\n\n
In his January 8, 2026 interview, Trump refused to answer why he recognized Maduro\u2019s vice president as acting president, but analysts see it as a short-term bet on stability. \u201cIt should be remembered that instability, protests, and chaos are bad for business,\u201d Renzullo says pointedly. Trump also declined to answer under what conditions he might send ground troops to Venezuela\u2014something some analysts say would be \u201cpolitical suicide.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Meanwhile, Rodriguez has begun exercising power in Venezuela and making her first appointments, starting with her own replacement as economy chief, and also naming the new commander of the Presidential Honor Guard and the head of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence. \u201cTo those who threaten me, I say: only God decides my fate,\u201d Rodriguez recently declared. <\/p>\n\n
However, what she should do is call elections. \u201cArticle 234 [of the Venezuelan Constitution] is clear: ninety days, extendable for another ninety as determined by the National Assembly,\u201d says Juan Carlos Apitz, dean of the Law and Political Science Faculty at the Central University of Venezuela. <\/p>\n\n
Once that period ends, \u201cat some point a new universal, direct, and secret presidential election will have to be called,\u201d says the constitutional law expert. \u201cI am not entering into the question of whether Mr. Nicolas Maduro\u2019s presidency was legitimate or not, that is another matter,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cWhat politicians do and what they have to resolve is up to them,\u201d Anuer Z. tells DW, admitting he is afraid. \u201cWe, as citizens and civilians, must maintain calm and unity; here we are neither green nor red, we are tricolor,\u201d he says, referring to the colors of the Venezuelan flag. \u201cMay Venezuela rise again\u2014that is what we want, what all of Venezuela wants\u2014and put an end to so much hatred, to 26 years of harassment,\u201d he concludes. He also calls for the economy to be revived, and for \u201cpeace and tranquility\u201d to be preserved. <\/p>\n\n
with the collaboration of \u00c1lvaro Algarra from Caracas<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the streets of Caracas, there is fear, uncertainty, and great caution, but also hope. The extraction operation that removed Nicolas Maduro, carried out by the United States in the early hours of Saturday, January 3, 2026, kept Venezuela on edge and its capital literally awake. Many still have the deafening noise of the planes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1403,"featured_media":181235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-dw.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15445],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n