By Hadar Katsman, Features Editor
On January 3, 2026, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had in an early-morning operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores. Venezuelans both in Venezuela and across the world reacted with a mix of celebration and fear for what was to come. In the weeks since, the U.S. has taken on a prominent role in overseeing the Venezuelan government, which is now headed by acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president.
Professor Alexandra Panzarelli, a Venezuelan native and former Yeshiva University Professor of Comparative Politics and Political Theory, spoke with the YU Observer about Maduro’s regime and what his capture means for Venezuelans today. “I think this is a very delicate transition right now and this is a pivotal moment for Venezuela,” Panzarelli told the YU Observer. “It’s hard to know what is going to be the next move by the Trump administration.”
The U.S. first indicted Maduro for several severe crimes several years ago, including conspiracy of narco-terrorism and cocaine importation, as well as possession of machine guns and destructive devices. In late November last year, the Trump administration officially designated the Cartel de los Soles, the network of government officials involved in drug operations conducted by Maduro’s regime, a foreign terrorist organization.
Panzarelli was last in Venezuela in 2019, but she hears what is happening on the ground through her family that lives in the country.
Maduro’s Destructive Regime
Under Maduro’s socialist regime since 2013, Venezuela has experienced a massive economic depletion and humanitarian crisis, with large portions of the population having little access to electricity, internet and clean water. Since Maduro came into power, 8 million Venezuelans have left the country due to the severe oppression they experienced. “It’s the history of a country that’s in a very precarious situation,” Panzarelli said.
Venezuela’s 2024 election was a tight race between Maduro, who was running for his third presidential term, and Edmundo González. Maduro took the win, but not without plenty of evidence that proves the election was stolen. “That election was the last hope, I think, that Venezuela had to solve this in a peaceful way,” Panzarelli said. “The regime basically decided to steal the election.”
After the 2024 election, more than 2,000 Venezuelan protestors who publicly demonstrated against the results and regime were incarcerated. “We realized that there was no way of dealing with the Venezuelan regime using peaceful resources and this is basically what paved the way, I would say, for these American interventions,” Panzarelli said.
How Successful Is This US-Venezuela Partnership?
With Maduro out of the picture, his Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has become the acting President of Venezuela, under the condition that she will work with the Trump administration (though she is not taking subjugation to the Trump administration all too well). For many Venezuelans, Rodríguez, a holdover from Maduro’s regime, is not the change they desire or need right now. “What we want is a regime change, not a different face of the same regime,” Panzarelli said.
Even though there has yet to be an official announcement, “I hear President Trump saying that they will call for elections eventually,” Panzarelli said. “I think that makes sense even though we do have a clear leader, that is María Corina Machado.”
The hope many Venezuelans have to remove Rodríguez appears to be mutual for Trump, who Panzarelli said is looking to replace Rodríguez with a council of members from both Maduro’s regime and the opposition. “I think that makes a lot of sense,” Panzarelli said, “more than whatever they’re doing right now that I basically don’t understand.”
Under Rodríguez, there are still around 700 political prisoners in Venezuela. Even with the U.S. pressuring the Venezuelan government, prisoners are still being released in a slow trickle. Panzarelli said it is unclear what the hold up to these political prisoners’ releases are. She believes that the regime does not view the political prisoners as human beings, but rather chips to be played.
“As Venezuelans, we don’t trust in the Venezuelan regime. We don’t trust in these people,” Panzarelli said. “These are the same people that have committed crimes against humanity and they’re not going to change just because Maduro is imprisoned.”
Venezuelans in The Diaspora
Daily life has not drastically improved for Venezuelans after Maduro’s capture. With allies of Maduro still in power, many are afraid to celebrate and continue to exercise caution. Even the private confines of one’s technological devices are no longer safe spaces for silent rebellion. Citizens are randomly phone-checked by police patrolling the streets to see if they supported Maduro’s capture, and are thrown into prison when caught. Journalists are being detained as well.
“I think a lot of people are celebrating in silence that Maduro is facing justice,” Panzarelli said, “however Venezuelans won’t fully support until we see the regime out of the political power of the country.”
At the same time, Panzarelli said, relatives of political prisoners are demonstrating and taking to the streets. “It’s showing that people are losing fear a little bit, that they’re trying to overcome the fear, and it’s going to be crucial that the people overcome this fear so we can take the streets in a few weeks if this transition continues going as bad as it is right now, basically with the regime not respecting what they promised after Maduro’s capture,” she said.
Among the Venezuelan population, there is a minority who support Maduro, many of whom live in the urban, wealthier areas of the country. In addition to those in Maduro’s inner circle, there are extremely leftist Americans and Canadians who support Maduro.
Most Venezuelans in the diaspora do not support Maduro and they have more freedom to express their feelings about Maduro’s regime without fear of retribution. As Maduro was led to his first court hearing, Venezuelans gathered outside the courthouse, with the ability to openly celebrate his capture and condemn his regime. “A majority is very happy to see Maduro behind bars, including me,” Panzarelli said. “I [hope] that all the regime face justice, including the interim president now — including her, including her brother, and including all the people that have massacred us in the streets and have done all this different harm to us.”
Now that Trump has suspended a long-standing Venezuelan refugee program, many Venezuelans living in America are worried about facing deportation back to Venezuela, despite the ongoing corruption and terrible conditions.
How Venezuelans at YU Are Feeling
Living in America does not completely erase the fear that many Venezuelans feel publicly supporting Maduro’s capture, including three Venezuelan students at Stern College who spoke to the YU Observer on the condition of anonymity.
One interviewee, who was born and raised in Venezuela, said she rejoiced with her family, her mother crying, when they learned about Maduro’s capture. Her immediate family still resides in Venezuela, along with many of her friends and former classmates. “What worries me the most is their safety and them being in a country where a lot of different, unexpected things could happen very fast,” she told the YU Observer.
The YU Observer was told by one student that American liberals criticizing Maduro’s capture are taking the U.S. intervention “way out of proportion and are taking it out on Trump.” According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 65% of Republicans support the U.S. intervention, compared to only 11% of Democrats and 23% of independents. “Maduro was crazy,” the student said. “He deserved to be sentenced.”
Another interviewee, who lived in Venezuela until she was 18, remains in daily contact with her parents, extended family and friends still living there. The distance does not mean the situation in Venezuela is not on her mind, she told the YU Observer. “Survivor’s guilt is very real,” she said. “You’re working hard here, but your mind is always split between your life in America and the crisis back home wondering how my family and friends are every second of my life.”
Even from America, many Venezuelans fear publicly speaking out against the regime. “Even in America, there is a lingering ‘phantom fear,’” she said. “Many people, including myself, worry that if they are too vocal online or in interviews, their family members still in Venezuela might face retaliation.”
Two anonymously quoted students expressed that María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan politician and activist who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting for a Venezuela free from authoritarianism, is a pillar of hope for the future of Venezuela. Known as Venezuela’s “Iron Lady,” Machado was a presidential candidate in Venezuela’s 2024 election, only to be kicked off the ballot by Maduro and replaced with Edmundo González, who Machado supported and who Maduro eventually stole the election from.
Many Venezuelans believe Machado is a strong candidate to replace Rodrigeuz. “While seeing Maduro removed is significant, the fact that Rodríguez is taking over feels like a cruel joke,” an interviewee said. “For us, it’s like replacing the captain of a sinking ship with his first mate, the destination hasn’t changed.” She described Machado as the light at the end of a dark tunnel whom “we trust to help guide us toward a future that is actually free, not just under new management.”
Since December 2025, after escaping to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, Machado has shared that her plan is to still return to Venezuela, despite the government identifying her as a fugitive. Panzarelli expressed concern that Machado’s possible return would incite more support for her in the streets, which would lead “to more repression and more violence.”
When Is It Time to Return Home?
At the end of the day, many of the 8 million Venezuelans who left the country after Maduro’s election want to return home. “Many of us, we are waiting for the right moment to come back to our country,” Panzarelli said. The practicalities of that wish are not so simple. Families have settled into new countries and have built lives for themselves that make it difficult to relocate again. When asked what would need to happen for Venezuelans to return to their homeland, one student said a change in the regime is not enough. There needs to be economic stability and the restoration of rule of law.
Panzarelli made a similar argument, saying that there needs to be a complete regime change, on top of free elections. “People [are] afraid of celebrating because the regime is still there,” she said. “And that’s the other reason why they’re not celebrating, right? They’re not seeing a substantial change.”
The work is still far from done, one of the anonymous students expressed. “We are grateful for the door being opened, but now the real work of rebuilding our institutions and our economy begins.”
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