On the ground in Venezuela: Uncertainty

Amid celebrations over Nicolás Maduro's forced departure from power in Venezuela, people watch with uncertainty to see what will happen in the coming hours and days. The atmosphere seems particularly tense and the panorama remains unclear even today, several days later.

After years of persecution and a sophisticated system of state terrorism, fear remains ingrained as part of a survival strategy for many Venezuelans. Thus, in the early hours, lines formed outside stores and supermarkets as people sought to stock up their homes.

A similar situation occurred at gas stations. However, it’s important to note that lines to buy gasoline are common in this South American nation. Even after decades of oil production, it suffers from forced rationing and intermittent shortages.

Accustomed for years to power outages and failures in basic services such as drinking water and domestic gas, it’s equally true that Venezuelans have developed a particularly high level of resilience.

Despite the poverty that plagues the country, inflation that reduces purchasing power, and a distorted economy in which different types of currency are used in the markets, the Venezuelan people has proven itself to be exceptionally adaptable.

In this scenario, what is most noticeable in Venezuela is an apparent calm charged with expectations.

Everyone is especially focused on what will happen with the military and other armed forces that have so far sustained the socialist power in the oil-producing nation.

Although there’s talk abroad of peace, democracy, and freedom, these three terms remain foreign to the flesh-and-blood Venezuelans who continue to live in the country.

And amid the confusion, they remain silent after the government’s declaration of a “state of external commotion.”

The decree that activated this measure in the legal framework created by Maduro's regime instructs the country's “national, state, and municipal police forces” to pursue those involved.

In this document, they are required to “immediately undertake the search and capture throughout the national territory of any person involved in promoting or supporting the armed attack by the United States.”

This partly explains the exceptional brevity and nature of the message from the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, as the Catholic Church in the country usually issues lengthy and well-argued documents.

This time, the Church has written only one paragraph: “In light of the events our country is experiencing today, let us ask God to grant all Venezuelans serenity, wisdom, and strength. We stand in solidarity with those who were injured and the families of those who died.”

They close the text — published on January 3 — with an appeal that has also been a common theme in recent hours in Venezuela: ”Let us persevere in prayer for the unity of our people."

One day after the capture, described by some as a kidnapping, Pope Leo XIV spoke out from the Vatican. Unlike the thousands of reactions from various world leaders, the Pontiff made it clear that “the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration.”

In his moving message, the Pope also drew the attention of the international community to one word: sovereignty.

In effect, he called for the “overcoming of violence” and “the pursuit of paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the country, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in its Constitution, respecting the human and civil rights of each and every person, and working together to build a peaceful future of cooperation, stability and harmony.”

He then turned his attention to “the poorest who are suffering because of the difficult economic situation.”

Finally, he invited everyone to join in prayer for Venezuela: “I pray for all this, and I invite you to pray too, entrusting our prayer to the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto, and to Saints José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles.”