Venezuelans wait with bated breath as their country’s future hangs in the balance, resident says

A strange lull has fallen over Venezuela’s capital as people wait to find out what the future holds for their country, says Caracas resident Benigno Alarcón Deza.

Deza, a political analyst at Andrés Bello Catholic University, says Venezuelans have been in shock since Saturday, when the United States attacked their country and captured the president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

While the couple stand trial in New York for narcoterrorismally of Maduro, Delcy Rodriguezwas sworn in as interim president, with no plans to step down.

American President Donald Trump, for his part, said the United States would ‘run’ Venezuela And take control of the country’s oil industry.

Trump rejected the idea of María Corina Machado, opposition leader in exile take the reins. His supporters and many international observers consider Machado an ally Edmundo Gonzalez beat Maduro in the 2024 elections.

All this uncertainty, Deza says, has turned Caracas into a ghost town. Here is part of his conversation with As it happens host Nil KÖksal.

I wonder what it was like for you personally, and perhaps for your neighbors too, to see these images today of Nicolas Maduro being led into a courthouse in the United States?

The scene [of] Maduro’s appearance in court is something most Venezuelans expected, but when they look at the scene, the reality and what is happening, it looks like a science fiction movie. This is something hard to believe.

It sounds like you think people don’t really believe Maduro is out. While they’re processing this, what are people doing?

People are very afraid of what is happening, of what will happen next.

Today, people are closing their houses. Few businesses are open and operating. Most people stay at home, watch the news, try to be informed about what’s going on, what’s happened.

Schools did not open today. Last night, we received an email from our schools informing us that due to the situation in the country, the children will not be in class until next week. The same thing happened with universities in Venezuela.

The situation is therefore strange for everyone.

You wrote just at the end of last year that you expect U.S. pressure tactics to lead to what you described as a “negotiated exit” for Maduro. Did this military action and what actually happened shock you?

Perhaps the United States expects this government to work to facilitate the transition process in Venezuela. And on the other hand, the government on this side may be expecting to be able to negotiate a solution with the United States… in order to buy time and stay in power.

I don’t know of any similar situation before where a government is trying to effect a democratic transition through the government in power, the one in place. And I doubt it will end the right way. Let’s see what happens.

What is the right way?

The right solution for me is to put in power those who won the 2024 elections.

But I understand, on the other hand, the doubts that the United States might have at that time. Because the big question is how these people who come to power after 25 years of control of everything by others will be able to stay in power and have a stable situation in Venezuela.

Maybe the United States doesn’t want to repeat stories like Iraq, for example, and send about 1,000 troops [in Venezuela] to protect the government.

But on the other hand, my big question is: Will the holder be willing to cooperate to dismantle the system that they have supported in power for many, many years? It’s hard to believe.

Delcy Rodríguez, the current interim leader of Venezuela, has been very outspoken about what the United States did initially. Today, they are much more conciliatory, saying they could work on a “cooperative agenda.” What did you think of this change in tone?

I think people in government are scared too. Obviously, when they speak, they are speaking to their audience, to their people in Venezuela, to those who support them. And we’re talking about 15 percent of the population, no more. But they need people around them at times like this.

But on the other hand, after the [U.S.] demonstration of power a few hours ago, I think everyone in the government and in the army knows very well that they do not have the capacity to deal with these kinds of situations. In fact, on the day of the attack, we had no response. We saw no attempt at defense.

So you can expect two possibilities here. The first is that they try to adapt and absorb the strike in the right way and avoid the next strike. And on the other hand, maybe they are willing to cooperate because they know they have no alternative.

What does this ultimately mean for MarInto Corina Machado, Edmundo González and their supporters?

People who support María Corina Machado and Edmundo González — who [is] Most Venezuelans are not happy with this pressure from Donald Trump, okay? They think that Donald Trump has been unfair to María Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzáles, and they expect that… María Corina Machado and Edmundo González will be the next government of Venezuela.

Machado has also been rather conciliatory with Donald Trump. Do you think that trying to build this kind of relationship was not a good bet?

They maintained… very good relations with the United States government. It’s obvious that people like [U.S. Secretary of State] Marco Rubio likes María Corina Machado.

Obviously, the situation with Donald Trump was much more difficult.