Hope mixed with uncertainty for Venezuelan Londoners following Maduro's capture
CBC
Some Venezuelan Londoners say although they're hopeful the capture and removal of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro from government will bring about positive change, their feelings of joy are coupled with anxiety over the country's future.
On Saturday morning, the U.S. launched a “large-scale strike” in Caracas and took Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of their home within the Fort Tiuna military installation. The pair are now being held in a New York detention centre and will appear in court on Monday.
The intervention has left questions around who will govern the oil-rich Latin American country and what that will mean for its residents. U.S. President Donald Trump initially said that Washington will take over, but on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would not take a day-to-day role in governing Venezuela other than enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” on the country.
For Londoner Margarita Sanchez-Favro, the looming uncertainty of what's next makes it hard to celebrate the end of the current regime. For 25 years, the country has been led by Hugo Chavez, until his death in 2013, after which Maduro, appointed by Chavez, gained power.
"I am celebrating the fact that Maduro is not in power anymore. But I think we have to be cautious because we don't know what Trump's motives are, and honestly, I really don't expect anything good from him," she said.
"The coming days will be very hard for Venezuela because we don't know what is going to happen. Is this going to become something similar to 2013, or are we going to really have a transition and become a democratic country again? I don't know."
The upheaval has caused panic among locals who are rationing food and medicines trying to prepare for any further military action, said Sanchez-Favro.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of running a "corrupt" government fuelled by drug trafficking, despite this, Sanchez-Favro questions why only Maduro was captured and not other members of his government, who still remain in power.
Eduardo Leon, 28, hopes a regime change would happen democratically and in favour of Venezuelans, he said. Leon fled the country and sought asylum in Canada for his role in student-led protests against Maduro's government in 2017.
He remembers firsthand how challenging life for Venezuelans has been under the regime.
"Obviously, the political aspect of it: the repression, censorship, persecution for speaking against the government," Leon said. "But the way the economy has been mismanaged, alongside the corruption, has made day-to-day life for Venezuelans very difficult with wages as low as a few dollars a month in a country where groceries are more expensive than they are in Canada."
"It's a lot of uncertainty and a very quiet, eerie feeling of happiness," said Leon about Maduro's capture, adding that Venezuelans are acting with cautious optimism.
Leon believes Venezuela will require help from the U.S. and the wider international community when rebuilding what he hopes will be a democratic transition of power.
"My concern is that there is no effort for regime change and that the Trump administration will just settle with a new dictator in power in Venezuela to have better business connections to take them away from their Russia and China spirit of influence."
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