A mix of hope and fear settles over Venezuela after US-imposed government change

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A mix of hope and fear settles over Venezuela after US-imposed government change

[html]A government supporter holds an image of President Nicolas Maduro during a women's march to demand his return in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, three days after U.S. forces captured him and his wife. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

2026-02-02T05:08:11Z

                                       

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Time in Venezuela feels like it’s moving both too fast and too slow. The pillars of the country’s self-proclaimed socialist government are falling at a dizzying pace or not quickly enough. Economic relief is finally on the horizon or already too late.

Thirty days after the U.S.         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-maduro-what-to-know-a57528ff315a7f70ed51a1721f5e0bc2">raid and capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro upended Venezuela, adults and children alike are still unsure of what exactly is happening around them. And as the initial shock gives way to a mix of uncertainty, hope and disappointment, a pervasive fear of another attack or more government repression continues to hang over them.

   
       
   

In the capital,         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/hub/caracas">Caracas, where government-sponsored billboards and graffiti demand that the U.S. free Maduro, many residents wonder whether his successor,         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-interim-president-rodriguez-maduro-chavez-b352b5af17deb0ab78684b8398045179">acting President Delcy Rodríguez has any autonomy or is capitulating to White House demands; whether she is Maduro by another name, and — crucial to their immediate needs — whether to believe, as indicated by her, that a long-sought wage increase is on the horizon. Meanwhile, long-silent opposition leaders have finally emerged to speak publicly.

           
               
                   

   

       
   


       

       
     
   

   
   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   
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Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

               
           
       
       
   

   
   
   


               
           
       

“It’s an important change, certainly, but everything is the same, everything,” retiree Julio Castillo, 74, said of the removal of Maduro from office. “I feel as if nothing much has happened.”

   
   
       
           
               
   
   


   
   

       
   

           
       
   
   

‘We are acting under coercion’

Venezuela’s government and its supporters consider the capture of Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores a kidnapping. Rodríguez and senior officials have pledged to fight for the couple’s freedom since         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">U.S. President Donald Trump first announced their seizure in the early hours of Jan. 3.

The ruling party has organized demonstrations to show their loyalty to Maduro, whom the fiery Hugo Chávez anointed as his self-proclaimed socialist revolution’s torchbearer before dying in 2013. It has also adjusted its messaging from threatening a Vietnam-like war with the U.S. to admitting being militarily outmatched and needing to transform the relationship with Goliath.

   
       
   

Supporters — a minority compared to the crowds during Chávez’s presidency — see Rodríguez as lacking free will but trust that she can carry Chavismo, their political movement, through the next diplomatic battle.

   
       
   

“The Venezuelan state, and Venezuelans, are accepting this new situation in which we are acting under coercion,” José Vivens, a Maduro loyalist, said of Rodríguez’s decision to allow the Trump administration         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-trump-oil-sales-rubio-maduro-rodriguez-61ad64e8a983db7faaa80beb71ba1aa4">to control Venezuela’s oil money, the country’s engine. “They kidnapped our commander. And we have to give in because we have to live for another battle.”

           
               
                   

   

       
   


       

       
     
   

   
   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   

   
       

   
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Pro-government armed civilians patrol in La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)