{"id":679578,"date":"2026-01-07T09:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T09:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/679578\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T09:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T09:07:21","slug":"armed-militias-deployed-in-venezuela-as-regime-attempts-to-impose-authority-us-attack-on-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/679578\/","title":{"rendered":"Armed militias deployed in Venezuela as regime attempts to impose authority | US attack on Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"

Venezuela<\/a>\u2019s rulers have deployed armed militias to patrol streets, operate checkpoints and check people\u2019s phones in a crackdown to consolidate authority after the US attack on Caracas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Paramilitary groups known as colectivos criss-crossed the capital with motorbikes and assault rifles on Tuesday in a show of force to stifle any dissent or perception of a power vacuum.<\/p>\n

The patrols stopped and searched cars and demanded access to people\u2019s phones to check their contacts, messages and social media posts in a stark demonstration to the population that the regime remained in charge despite the abduction of president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anyone who was suspected of supporting Saturday\u2019s US raid was liable for arrest, said Mirelvis Escalona, 40, a resident in the western Caracas neighbourhood of Catia. \u201cThere\u2019s fear. There are armed civilians here. You never know what might happen, they might attack people.\u201d<\/p>\n

A member of colectivos takes part in a march calling for the release of Maduro. Photograph: Gaby Or\u00e1a\/Reuters<\/p>\n

A semblance of normality returned to much of the city, with shops and bakeries reopening and people going to work \u2013 but uncertainty over what will happen next created a febrile mood.<\/p>\n

The interim president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>, has sought to project a sense of calm and control since being sworn in on Monday but there was no disguising the government\u2019s shock and jitteriness.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Rodr\u00edguez appeared to harden her tone against the US, saying in a televised address that \u201cno external agent governs Venezuela\u201d \u2013 a clear rebuttal to Donald Trump\u2019s claim that the US was running the South American country.<\/p>\n

It marked another shift in tone<\/a> from Maduro\u2019s former vice-president who released a conciliatory statement late on Sunday in which she \u201cinvited the US government to work together on an agenda of cooperation\u201d.<\/p>\n

In addition to the humiliation of Maduro\u2019s appearance in a New York court<\/a> on narco-trafficking charges, authorities in Caracas face the risk of a fresh US attack, economic collapse, internal regime fracture and the return of overseas-based opposition leaders.<\/p>\n

Gunfire erupted on Monday night when security forces shot at unauthorised drones which reportedly were mistaken for another US operation. \u201cThere was no confrontation, the entire country remains completely calm,\u201d Simon Arrechider, the deputy information minister, told reporters.<\/p>\n

But it is a tense calm.<\/p>\n

On Monday at least 14 journalists and media employees, including 13 members of international media organisations, were detained in Caracas<\/a>. All but one were later released.<\/p>\n

An emergency decree has sought to stamp out any public celebration of Maduro\u2019s ouster and ordered police to seek and detain \u201ceveryone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n

Footage posted on social media showed colectivos \u2013 some wearing masks \u2013 blocking highways, roving pro-opposition neighbourhoods and questioning residents, prompting people to warn friends and family via WhatsApp and other platforms to leave phones at home or to scrub them of political content.<\/p>\n

An emergency decree has sought to stamp out any public celebration of Maduro\u2019s ouster. Photograph: Gaby Or\u00e1a\/Reuters<\/p>\n

The interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, posted a photo of himself posing with police who cradled weapons and chanted \u201calways loyal, never traitors\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jeaneth Fuentes, 53, a doctor at a private clinic in Caracas, said the presence of armed groups \u2013 some in uniform, others in civilian clothes \u2013 made her commute to and from work feel like a gamble. \u201cIt\u2019s frightening, terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gunfire on Monday night <\/a>compounded the sense that anything might happen, she said. \u201cI can\u2019t plan, it\u2019s living each minute at a time.\u201d She leaves home only for work, and never after 6pm.<\/p>\n

Fuentes expressed hope the current turmoil might lead to the end of rule by chavismo, the movement Hugo Ch\u00e1vez brought to power in 1999. \u201cIf something was built over so many years, it can\u2019t be torn down in a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Government supporters, in contrast, condemned the abduction of Maduro and said they would defend Venezuela\u2019s sovereignty. \u201cThere is a fighting spirit inherent in the Venezuelan people,\u201d said Willmer Flores, a finance ministry employee. \u201cWe are the liberators of America, and we are not intimidated by anything.\u201d He pledged solidarity with Maduro.<\/p>\n

With the Trump administration warning of potential fresh military strikes, and a blockade on oil exports<\/a> squeezing revenues, there is speculation about divisions within the regime over how to accommodate Trump while retaining anti-imperialist credentials. Unlike Rodr\u00edguez, who faces no criminal charges in the US, ministers like Cabello who are accused of narco-trafficking could lose not just their power but their liberty.<\/p>\n

Another concern for the government is Mar\u00eda Corina Machado<\/a>, the fugitive opposition leader who mobilised millions of voters last year, slipped to Oslo to collect her Nobel peace price and is now vowing to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m planning to go as soon as possible back home,\u201d<\/a> she told Fox News. \u201cWe believe that this transition should move forward,\u201d she told Fox News in an interview. \u201cWe won an election by a landslide under fraudulent conditions. In free and fair elections, we will win over 90% of the votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump however has publicly dismissed Machado<\/a>, saying she lacks support in Venezuela, and tacitly endorsed continued chavista rule under Rodr\u00edguez \u2013 on condition she meets US demands, including favoured access<\/a> for US oil companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Venezuela\u2019s rulers have deployed armed militias to patrol streets, operate checkpoints and check people\u2019s phones in a crackdown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-679578","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115853029878264704","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}