This article is by F. Brinley Bruton reporting from Bogotá, Colombia, and a Caracas-based reporter who is not being identified due to safety concerns.
CARACAS — Days after Venezuela’s capital was rocked by explosions and the country’s leader was seized in a U.S. operation, the streets of this city were eerily quiet.
Few people are venturing from their homes, although businesses have begun to reopen and the long lines that had snaked outside the few pharmacies and supermarkets that were operational over the weekend are disappearing. Those trying to get to work using the public bus system seem to be struggling as it seems to be on a skeleton schedule.
The more than half a dozen people who spoke to NBC News said that there has been an increased presence of government security forces as well as armed civilian paramilitaries loyal to the government. Officials have called for the arrest of anyone involved in the weekend’s attack. For those who quietly oppose the Maduro government, they hope they’re finally seeing the end of a dark period of their history. For those who supported him, there’s the uncertainty of what will happen to their leader.
Daniel, a gardener who commutes from his home on the outskirts of Caracas to the upscale neighborhood of Altamira, said he stayed home on Monday because he was afraid of encountering pro-government groups that are widely reported to be checking people’s cellphones. Like everyone interviewed for this story, Daniel asked not to be fully identified out of fear of reprisal from authorities that are very much still in power.
Despite the uncertainty, Daniel said he was hopeful that sooner or later Venezuelans would have a country where they could express themselves freely and choose their own leaders.
“I can’t deny that the future makes me anxious, but I do trust that change can happen from now on,” he told NBC News.
After an extraordinary weekend — when the country’s authoritarian leader and his wife, Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores, were seized by U.S. special forces and American bombs rained down on military facilities, ports and power installations — the regime appears to be holding firm. President Donald Trump has made clear as of now that he supports the leadership of Maduro’s vice president and successor, Delcy Rodriguez, who has said she is willing to work with the United States.
Still, intractable issues remain. The government continues to be willing to use intimidation and violence to remain in power, and shows few signs of trying to fix an economy that has trapped 90% of the population in poverty despite the country’s vast oil wealth. Hundreds of people are still in prison after they were arrested during protests following the July 2024 election, where there was credible evidence Maduro’s opposition won.
On Sunday morning, Josefina and her husband, both 70-year-old retirees, were driving along Boyacá Avenue, a highway that carves an east-to-west path across Caracas alongside Waraira Repano National Park. The road is popular on weekends when families take in the views of nature surrounding the city.
What was supposed to have been a relaxing weekend outing turned nerve-wracking when the couple encountered a checkpoint. At first they thought it was “colectivos” — armed civilians who support the Venezuelan government. Instead, a black van carrying the insignia of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, which is responsible for stopping espionage and intelligence threats, was parked behind the men.
“They were dressed in civilian clothes and were heavily armed,” Josefina said.
Josefina and her husband got home fine since they likely are not seen as a threat to a government that is on highest alert. But on Monday, near the National Assembly around the time Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president, 14 journalists and press workers were detained. Thirteen journalists have been released and one was deported, according to a local journalists’ group.
Some residents said they were afraid of the possibility of another U.S. attack.
Rosa, a 47-year-old optometrist who lives and works in eastern Caracas, said that while she was happy about Maduro’s capture, she would never forget the terror she experienced early Saturday.
“I would never want to live through something like that again in my life,” she said, describing how at 2 a.m. an explosion woke her up. “The windows of my house shook as if there were an earthquake. It was so strong that my neighbor’s windows cracked.”
Germari, 26, a graduate in foreign trade who lives near one of the military bases attacked on Saturday, echoed that sentiment.
“My mother, my sister, and I have been sleeping together since that day,” she said. “We haven’t rested because even the sound of cars frightens us. My biggest worry is that it will happen again.”
For now, the city remains relatively still as residents of Caracas figure out what comes next amid a range of feelings.
A 63-year-old professional who works from home said that this tranquility masks a multitude of fears.
“Supposedly the country is calm, but simply it is a tense calm,” she told NBC News via WhatsApp. “And calm for us citizens [is] as long as we limit ourselves to doing our own thing without commenting on anything political, and do what we have to do: buy food, medicine, go to work … and that’s it.”
