“My heart cries with joy,” says Gustavo Castillo, a Venezuelan living in Buenos Aires, in response to the extraordinary capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Crowds gathered in countries including Argentina, Chile and Colombia over the weekend to celebrate.
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In Caracas, stockpiling, rather than celebrating, is the priority for residents who say they fear crackdowns by the regime, most of which the US has left in place.
“If I thought it would improve the country, I’d welcome it,” said Leandro, 24, as he queued outside a supermarket 24 hours after the large-scale US military operation to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. “But I don’t believe this will happen. If they wanted peace, this isn’t the way to achieve it.”
On Sunday, thousands of government supporters took to the streets to demand the return of Maduro. Participants carrying rifles chanted slogans such as “Venezuela with Nicolás”, condemning the president’s abduction and Donald Trump’s decision to invade, a move many experts believe represents a flagrant violation of international law.
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