Caracas, Venezuela – The rhythm of daily life continues in the bustling squares of Caracas. Street vendors sell chocolates and frozen fruit, and shopkeepers stock their shelves amid the afternoon crowd. However, beneath this familiar daily routine, a new sense of tension lingers.
As U.S. military assets are deployed near the Venezuelan coast and rhetoric intensifies between Washington and Caracas, residents of the capital find themselves divided – some by hope, some by skepticism, some by a fierce instinct to protect their homeland.
For some, the presence of foreign ships offshore represents the answer to a long-awaited prayer. For others, it is an imperial insult to a sovereign nation.
“My country is my country, and my army is my army,” says David Oropeza, a 52-year-old farmer and merchant who sells frozen strawberries and blackberries he harvests. Despite his health condition, which requires treatment three times a week, he says he would be willing to fight if the U.S. attacked.
“We will go knee-deep in the ground with those people. We will face them (the Venezuelan army) together with them (the invaders),” Oropesa told Al Jazeera as he waited for a bus in downtown Caracas, staring out at the horizon. “I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“Positive change”
The United States has carried out nearly 20 airstrikes in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean since September, killing more than 80 people. The latest attack on Thursday left four people dead. President Donald Trump’s administration has not provided any evidence to support its claims that the targeted ships were loaded with drugs or smugglers or that they were headed for the United States. There is also no legal justification for the operation, with many experts saying it violates international law.
Meanwhile, President Trump also said the United States was preparing to attack alleged drug traffickers “on land,” suggesting that a direct military operation against Venezuela could be imminent.
President Trump deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. Thousands of troops. And in recent weeks, F-35 military jets have been sent to the Caribbean in the region’s biggest show of military power in decades.
For some in Venezuela, U.S. pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is good for the country.
Karolina Tovar, 60, is sitting on a bench in one of the city’s busiest squares. The chocolate and sweets vendor says that under U.S. pressure, “Venezuela will be free.”
“One day we will have freedom,” she says. “I think Mr. Maduro is already feeling a lot of pressure.”
Her comments reflect widespread frustration and despair in Venezuela. Maduro was sworn in for a third term in January after nearly 12 years in office, marked by a deep economic and social crisis and repeated U.S. efforts to pressure or oust the government.
Venezuela’s electoral authorities and Supreme Court declared him the winner of July’s election, although detailed tallies confirming his victory were not made public.
Opposition parties say voting records show candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won by a wide margin, a result that has led the United States and several other governments to recognize him as the next president. Independent observers have also questioned the election.
But polls show Tovar is in the minority in the country. Most Venezuelans are far more concerned about daily survival, low wages, and inflation than geopolitics, and do not support U.S. pressure or attacks on their country.
A majority of Venezuelans continue to oppose economic sanctions on the country, according to a poll conducted last month by Caracas-based firm Datanalysis. The poll found that 55% of respondents opposed sectoral, financial and oil sanctions, while only 21% were in favor.
When it comes to foreign military attacks, 55% of Venezuelans oppose them, while 23% support them.
The reasons most cited by those opposed to attacks are civilian deaths, the risk of civil war, chaos, and long-term economic deterioration. Supporters of foreign pressure for change in Venezuela said they believed it would help strengthen democracy, bring peace and usher in economic improvement.
Opinion polls suggest that most Venezuelans do not side with either the rebels or President Maduro. 60% said they were politically independent, 13% supported the government and 19% supported the opposition.
“It is understandable that some Venezuelans believe that this kind of pressure from the United States can bring about political change and improve the situation,” said a government official with a degree in international affairs who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“But in my view, outside interference is never good for any country,” the official said. “We’ve seen it in Panama, Syria, Libya and many countries in the Middle East.”
According to a new Datanalysis poll conducted from November 14 to 19, 2025, 55% of Venezuelans oppose foreign military intervention, while 23% support it. pic.twitter.com/SUV3wYMczv
— Francisco Rodriguez (@frrodriguezc) November 29, 2025
“The motherland is the motherland”
Oropeza, a few blocks away from Tovar, is cynical about Venezuela and its elites, as well as Trump and his intentions. But he is clear that war is not the solution to those problems.
“No one wants war. We want peace,” Oropeza says. He then reflects and mentions the people he believes want war.
“Politics in the United States is driven largely by weapons, which makes money for whoever is in office,” he argued, noting that Venezuela’s mobilization would likely enrich local elites as well. “Who’s getting rich? They and people we don’t know.”
Oropesa, who describes himself as a former supporter of Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, the late President Hugo Chávez, said he is not a supporter of the current president.
Still, he draws a hard line when it comes to his sovereignty. His skepticism of the government does not translate into support for foreign attacks on his country.
In recent months, President Maduro has responded to rising tensions with a show of force. Troops and militias were mobilized, and soldiers tested anti-aircraft systems along the Caribbean coast.
By November, the government went even further, announcing a “massive” mobilization of troops and civilians in preparation for any possible U.S. action.
Skepticism and resources
Some members of the younger generation believe that U.S. interests in Venezuela are fundamentally related to the country’s natural resources.
“I think we’re a mess,” said Diego Mejia, 24, a supermarket stocker, as he hung out with friends.
He suspects that an invasion is imminent. “If the US wanted to be here, it would have already been here.” But the US is clear about what it wants. “Venezuela is a country with too many resources,” he points out, citing oil and uranium. “They are interested in Venezuela because they need Venezuela’s resources.”
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, more than five times the size of the United States, and significant natural gas fields, making the country’s energy sector a center of global strategic interest.
In addition to hydrocarbons, Venezuela is also rich in rare minerals such as gold, diamonds, bauxite, iron ore and coltan – essential materials for electronics, aerospace technology and modern manufacturing.
But like many others, Mejia also relies on his faith to cope with the anxiety of a potential military conflict with the world’s largest superpower. “I believe in God that nothing happens here,” he says.
The fact that the streets are not empty and people have not started stocking up on food suggests that many people share the view that an attack is not imminent.
Venezuela’s fear of the unknown
Others are less sure.
For Daribeth Blair, a 34-year-old housewife who watches her children play in the park, the situation evokes a complex mix of hope and maternal fear. The tension is also evident in her social circles. The friend declined to be interviewed, fearing it would affect his government job.
Blair says she hopes this pressure may spur modernization. “Internally… it seems positive because it has the potential to bring something good to this country. There are certain developments that we see in countries outside that I would like to see arrive here,” she says.
But the possibility of violence frightens her. Unlike Oropeza’s desire to fight, Blair’s instinct is to hide.
“I was trying to protect myself from fear,” she admits. Her contingency plan is simple. “Eat at home and keep the whole family in one place.”
As the sun sets over a city caught in the crosshairs of geopolitics, Blair echoes the uncertainty felt by millions.
“You never know if something is going to happen,” she recalls. “Something says yes, something says no.”
(Elizabeth Melimopoulos contributed reporting to this article from Canada)
