It was Wilmer Castro’s 26th birthday, so he wasn’t surprised when his cell phone was flooded with messages.
But when I started scrolling on Saturday morning, I realized that the message wasn’t a birthday wish, but news of something I’d been waiting for for years. It was the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power.
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“I think this is the best gift I’ve ever received. It’s something I’ll never forget,” the university student said from Ejido.
Castro told Al Jazeera that he was overjoyed to hear the news and began fantasizing about his future self telling his grandchildren and great-grandchildren the story of Maduro’s fall.
“I tell them that on January 3, 2026, the dictator will fall, and[that moment]will be very beautiful.”
The U.S. abduction of Venezuela’s longtime authoritarian leader and his wife followed months of heightened tensions between the two countries, including U.S. attacks on suspected drug-trafficking vessels and the deployment of U.S. vessels near Venezuela’s coastal waters.
But by Sunday morning, Castro’s initial jubilation was clouded by a heavy calm. The weight of uncertainty had plunged the city into a gloomy silence, and it was closing in on him, something he had never felt before.
“It’s like being in a field with nothing around you. It’s a sad silence. Words can’t describe it,” he said.
Many Venezuelans felt that anxiety Sunday morning.
Venezuela has been under a socialist government since 1999, first under President Hugo Chávez and then under President Maduro, a period that began with oil-funded social programs but devolved into economic mismanagement, corruption and repression, with the population further squeezed by international sanctions.
The momentum surrounding the 2024 presidential election has heightened expectations that an opposition coalition will come to power. But despite opposition claims of a landslide victory for Edmundo González Urrutia, a crackdown on the opposition continued after Maduro declared victory. This has led many Venezuelans to conclude that an actual transition may depend on external pressure and even intervention.
“Deadly silence”
On Saturday in southeastern Caracas, 54-year-old Edward Okaris woke up to a loud crash and his windows shaking in his home near the Fort Tiuna military barracks. I thought it was an earthquake, but when I looked outside, I saw an unfamiliar helicopter flying low above the smoke rising over the city.
“The noise kept going,” he said. “I knew right away that the helicopter was not Venezuelan because I had never seen one here before.”
Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.
“There was a deadly silence,” Okaris said, adding that a brief suspension of cell phone service and power outages contributed to the silence. “We were waiting to understand what was going on.”
The bits of information that managed to get through were met with fear, Okaris said. “But it was a mixture of joy and fear. It was an incredible joy. It’s hard to explain.”
On Sunday, after images of Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed began circulating, Okaris reflected on the suffering he endured under the president’s rule.
The human rights activist said he was wrongly charged with “terrorism” and spent nearly five months as a political prisoner in Tocuito Prison, a maximum-security facility in Carabobo state.
Under Maduro, the country had a long history of imprisoning opponents. Approximately 2,500 protesters, human rights activists, journalists and opposition figures have been arrested following the disputed 2024 elections. Some were later released, but others remained behind bars.
“I am satisfied. The process of justice has finally begun,” Okaris said, knowing full well that Maduro would not have to endure the dire prison conditions or be denied food and legal defense as he once was.
Despite the joy he and other Venezuelans are feeling now, Okaris warns that much remains to be done.
“The public continues to feel a great deal of fear (of the authorities), psychological fear, because it is well known how the police and the justice system use their power to criminalize those of their choosing.”
So far, key institutions remain in the hands of figures close to President Nicolás Maduro, including Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who was named acting president.
But for many Venezuelans, including Mr. Castro and Ms. Ocáriz, seeing a senior Chavez official still in power is unsettling, especially as the Trump administration continues to engage with her.
“It’s certainly frustrating for me, but I understand that Venezuela, as a country, needs to continue to administer, function and operate as a nation,” Ocariz said, adding that the United States needs to maintain some order to control power vacuums and eradicate repression.
economic concerns
Venezuela remains highly militarized, and further instability remains. During the period of dissent, authorities relied not only on formal security forces but also on armed civilian groups called colectivos, which have been accused by rights groups of intimidation and violence.
Jose Chalhoub, an energy and political risk analyst at Jose Parejo & Associates in Caracas, said he was concerned about the possibility of further attacks and civil unrest.
“A potential new government that cleans up the military, security and police at the top will lead to the collective disarmament of the people,” he said, adding that resolving the protracted economic crisis should also be one of the main priorities.
“A new government that takes rapid economic measures that lead to recovery will outweigh the ideological legacy of the Bolivarian revolution,” he said, referring to the ideology of Chavismo, which is defined by anti-imperialistism, patriotism and socialism.
Maduro’s loyalists have long blamed the United States for Venezuela’s economic woes, including sanctions it imposed on its oil sector.
Chalhoub said he found President Trump’s claim that the U.S. “runs the country” puzzling, but said he believed Trump’s promise to increase the country’s oil production could help the economy.
But not everyone is happy with the Trump administration’s attacks.
Alex Rajoy, a motorbike taxi driver in Caracas, said the US president was on an imperialist crusade aimed at “robbing” Venezuela of its natural resources.
Despite his anger, Rajoy said he would remain at home for the next few days, fearing further attacks.
“These missiles are not only aimed at Chavistas,” he said, referring to Chavistas loyal to Venezuela’s socialist ideology.
“They are also threatening people in the opposition,” he said, adding that anyone who supports foreign intervention amounts to betrayal. “It’s treason against the motherland,” he said.
What now?
For Castro, a college student, the euphoria he felt Saturday was punctuated by concerns about immediate needs: whether the store in Ejido would remain open and concerns about rising costs. People have long struggled to afford basic goods under Maduro.
“People on the street were crazy yesterday,” he said. “Everyone was using half the money in their bank accounts to buy food. They didn’t know what was going to happen in the future, so they bought as much as they could.”
The scenes brought back memories of the shortages of 2016, when hyperinflation and shortages plunged the country into crisis, with people queuing for hours and rushing between stores with limits on how much each person could buy.
But the day after the attack, Castro said Venezuelans were reflecting on their country’s future and the uncertainty surrounding its future.
“There’s happiness, there’s fear, there’s gratitude, and there’s the thought, ‘What happens next?'” he said. “For my next birthday, I want complete freedom for Venezuela. And hopefully, God willing, we can have it.”
