Editor’s note
This article is an opinion essay written from the personal experience of a Venezuelan author in response to events reported in the context of the political crisis in Venezuela. It does not seek to provide an exhaustive or definitive account of the facts. Rather, it is a reflection on how decades of external threat, political discourse, and uncertainty have shaped collective perception and social reactions in that moment.
The dawn when we awoke from the threat
In the early hours of January 3, amid the political crisis in Venezuela, international media outlets began reporting what was happening. Headlines multiplied rapidly: “Strong explosions in Caracas (VIDEOS)” (RT en Español), “LIVE UPDATES: U.S. attacks Venezuela” (RT en Español), and “Strong detonations in the capital of Venezuela” (DW News).
Other headlines followed: “Trump says Maduro was ‘captured and taken out’ of Venezuela” (DW News) and “Maduro to be tried in the U.S. for drug trafficking and terrorism” (DW News). From BBC News Mundo came: “Analysis: What is happening in Venezuela has no precedent in modern history” and “Trump says the U.S. will ‘govern’ Venezuela after Maduro’s capture until a ‘safe transition’ takes place.”
In line with one of the BBC headlines, what was experienced that morning was perceived as unprecedented. At the same time, it opened the door to a series of unexpected developments.
Twenty-six years of warnings and political discourse
It is well known that Venezuelan politics has been a constant source of controversy. This has been true both domestically and in international relations. Since the late twentieth century, the United States has been portrayed as the country’s number one enemy, accused of an insatiable desire for foreign wealth.
It is no secret that those of us who, like me, grew up under chavismo carry almost in our DNA the discourse that repeats “Gringo go home.” This narrative has been used to blame Americans for many of the hardships we have endured. These include endless lines to buy food, days-long lines to fill gas tanks, and trips to border areas to obtain medicine.
Added to this are power outages lasting several days, a minimum wage of two dollars, lack of water and gas in our homes, scarce resources in hospitals, and intimidation by police officers. The list continues with insecurity, crime, and a permanent sense of precarity.
And although, in legal and theoretical terms, Venezuela’s Bolivarian Constitution has received praise—“The current Constitution of Venezuela was approved in 1999 and provided a considerable boost to the protection of human rights and citizen participation” (Civic Freedom Monitor, 2020)—the reality we live in feels very different.
Living among threats and unfulfilled promises
For approximately twenty-six years, there has been constant insistence that the United States would come. And that, if it did, it would destroy everything. However, when we look around today, very little remains after those twenty-six years.
Opposition parties also join this confrontation. Through various alliances with the same enemy, they repeatedly claim that change is coming, that something is about to happen, and that it will not take long. The same discourse. The same promises. The same colors. Repeated for twenty-six long years.
From within, while remaining spectators on both sides, Venezuelans carry a subconscious filled with threats and promises that rarely touch reality.
We grew up hearing they would come: Persistent threats
However, as 2025 began, the situation started to feel more tense, at least in the news. By that point, Venezuelans seemed to have an unbreakable spirit. So much so that even with the world’s largest warship off our coast, sent by President Trump, it did not occur to us that something might actually happen.
As the months passed, reports increased about the presence of the United States in the Caribbean Sea with military equipment. Meanwhile, in people’s homes, attention was increasingly focused on Christmas preparations.
The rupture of the Venezuelan political imagination
On January 3, 2026, what many believed impossible occurred. On the one hand, the threat we had been warned about for twenty-six years became reality: “The United States attacks Venezuela.” On the other hand, President Nicolás Maduro was removed from office and transferred to the United States along with his wife, Cilia Flores.
There are no literary devices capable of describing the shock we felt when faced with that collision with reality. The impossible had already happened. Venezuelans abroad did not hesitate to go out and celebrate what appeared to be a victory against the government.
Those of us who remain in Venezuela, after witnessing an air attack for the first time outside a television screen, found ourselves suspended in a limbo of conflicting emotions and contradictions.
Independence as an open wound
History shows us that U.S. invasions have not been friendly to the territories that endured them. Moreover, living conditions in our own country were already extremely fragile. All of this opens the door to absolute uncertainty.
The debate over the long-awaited change of government, considering the loss of national sovereignty, does not leave our minds. We are a territory with more than two hundred years of independence. Even so, this time, as in every previous crisis, we move forward.
We return to our jobs. Children go back to school. Everyone carries on with their responsibilities. All the while remaining cautious and watching closely what is yet to come.
Further reading
To broaden perspectives on accountability, humanitarian consequences, and regional institutional risks linked to political transitions in Latin America, readers may also consult:
- The Monroe Doctrine in Latin America: Origins, intervention, and Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” — A historical analysis of the Monroe Doctrine, its evolution, reinterpretations, and its recent invocation in the context of U.S.–Latin American relations.
- U.S. intervention in Venezuela after Maduro — An analysis of the political and security implications following U.S. intervention in Venezuela and how this action connects to historical patterns of intervention.
- U.S. interventions in Latin America: Historical lessons for Venezuela and the region — A historical overview of U.S. interventions in the region and how these precedents inform understanding of Venezuela’s current crisis.
References
Alonso, J. F. (2025, November 12). Así es el USS Gerald Ford, el buque de guerra más grande del mundo que EE.UU. envió a las costas del Caribe y que costó US$13.000 millones. BBC News Mundo. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/ckgkd27e742o
Civic Freedom Monitor. (2020). Civic Freedom Monitor: Venezuela. https://www.icnl.org/resources/civic-freedom-monitor/venezuela
Deutsche Welle. (2026, January 3). Fuertes detonaciones en la capital de Venezuela. https://www.dw.com/es/fuertes-detonaciones-en-la-capital-de-venezuela/a-75373524
Deutsche Welle. (2026, January 3). Maduro será juzgado en EE. UU. por narcotráfico y terrorismo. https://www.dw.com/es/maduro-ser%C3%A1-juzgado-en-ee-uu-por-narcotr%C3%A1fico-y-terrorismo/a-75377259
Deutsche Welle. (2026, January 3). Trump dice que Maduro fue “capturado y sacado” de Venezuela. https://www.dw.com/es/trump-dice-que-maduro-fue-capturado-y-sacado-de-venezuela/a-75374701
RT en Español. (2026, January 4). Fuertes explosiones en Caracas (videos). https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/580026-reportan-explosiones-caracas
Inwood, J. (2026, January 3). Análisis: lo que sucede en Venezuela no tiene precedentes en la historia moderna. BBC News Mundo. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/c301pql8zjqo
Olmo, G. D. (2026, January 3). Trump dice que EE.UU. “gobernará” Venezuela tras la captura de Maduro y hasta que haya una “transición segura”. BBC News Mundo. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cjrz4lx4g30o