Venezuela is entering a new era of great uncertainty following the sudden arrest and removal of Nicolás Maduro, who has served as the country’s president for the past 12 years.
The streets of the capital Caracas and other cities are quiet amid fears about what will happen next. People are worried about going out because security forces are on alert. But there is little sign of government-backed militias known as colectivos taking to the streets.
Those who set out on an adventure have one priority. It’s about stocking up on basic supplies in case of clashes or looting in the capital. There are no signs of panic buying, but Venezuelans are used to stocking up whenever a crisis occurs.
Footage obtained by CNN on Saturday showed the streets mostly empty, but long lines of people gathered at supermarkets and pharmacies.
“On the street you can hear nothing but the chirping of birds,” journalist Mary Mena reported on Sunday.
Opposition supporters are celebrating in private, but no rallies have been held to support the US action. Mena said unless opposition leaders show they have support among Venezuelan officials and military commanders, they are likely to keep their heads down.
Information is gradually coming in from other cities. Reuters reported long lines for food in the oil capital city of Maracaibo. Jairo Chacin, 39, a local mechanic and workshop owner, said, “I was afraid of looting, so I went outside to check on the work, but there was no one on the street.”
“I wanted to fill up my tank with gas, but the gas station was already closed and I didn’t know what would happen, so I decided to take this opportunity to buy some food,” Chacin told Reuters. “To be honest, it’s a mixture of fear and joy.”
Alejandra Palencia, 35, a psychologist in Maracay, said: “When I took the dog out, it was like a city in ruins. People are stuck indoors.” “There is fear and uncertainty,” she told Reuters.
That uncertainty is pervasive.
“I want to know what happens next,” said Nancy Perez, a 74-year-old woman who went to a bakery near her home in Valencia, central Venezuela.
Some Venezuelans are unhappy with the way decisions about Venezuela are made in the White House. Jenny Salazar, who was stocking up on groceries in Caracas, told CNN: “I cannot consent to another president outside Venezuela ruling over us Venezuelans.”
President Trump said at a press conference on Saturday that his administration would govern Venezuela “until a transition is possible.”
Theo Tirin, who lives in Miami and was visiting Venezuela to visit his mother, also had concerns about how Venezuela would be governed. “How is[Donald Trump]going to control it? What kind of control is he going to have? Where are the people who are going to control it? (…) I don’t know.”
A doctor in the capital, who declined to be named, said the military’s role would be important.
“The position of the Venezuelan military is fundamental. We have to wait and see how they define themselves,” he said. He hoped for reconciliation between the United States and the Venezuelan rebels.
Under Venezuela’s constitution, acting president Delcy Rodríguez is required to call new elections within 60 days.
“I’m very interested to know what the transition will be like. What is the plan? Will she be in charge of the country and the electoral apparatus? How can we trust that?” asked another Caracas resident.
Venezuelan state media featured challenging messages to President Trump from supporters of the Trump administration. “We are (Hugo) Chávez’s children and we have earned our sovereignty. We will not allow you, who consider yourself the police of the world, to change this,” one young man said on Saturday’s Telesur broadcast live.
Chávez served as president before Maduro from 1999 to 2013 and was the founder of what became known as Venezuela’s Bolivarian Movement.
Rodriguez, who was appointed president by the Supreme Court now that Maduro is gone, did not speak Sunday, but the government appears focused on continuity. President Maduro has frequently said that his government will continue whether he is still president or not.
Officials announced that major international airports remain open and that the swearing-in will take place in parliament on Monday as scheduled.
Many Venezuelans were surprised by President Trump’s suggestion that the United States might work with Rodriguez as Venezuela’s new head of state, deepening uncertainty about the country’s future.
CNN’s Annabella Gonzalez, Mary Mena and Alessandra Freitas contributed to this report.
