A report from the Venezuelan border: the press is not welcome

Cúcuta (Colombia)Following the US raid to capture Nicolás Maduro, nothing unusual was observed this Sunday at the Simón Bolívar Bridge, which connects Colombia and Venezuela. This was confirmed by the soldiers guarding the gateway to the nation presided over by Gustavo Petro. Tranquility and normalcy prevailed; a common scene, both for those entering and leaving. In a rare instance, a small group of Venezuelans crossed the border with numerous large suitcases. A group of journalists tried to follow them, but they left. In fact, the biggest beneficiaries of the influx of international journalists during the hot January weather in Cúcuta, the border city, are the street vendors selling snacks. And the press remains in Cúcuta unable to move forward because Venezuela's borders remain closed to anyone carrying recording equipment. The press is barred.

"They tried yesterday at the Santander Bridge," a journalist from the Colombian television network Caracol told ARA. They were unsuccessful. "They were detained for a few hours, their recording equipment was confiscated, and they were made to turn back," she says. "Arbitrarily," she says, a radio worker was able to travel—with the military's permission—to the city of San Cristóbal, about ten kilometers from the border. "Without cameras, however," she adds resignedly.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, the same tranquility prevailed. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, described in the ARA that the morning of Nicolás Maduro's captureThe sidewalks were packed: lines at supermarkets, gas stations, and the few banks that were open. And with full refrigerators, most of the population is waiting at home for fear of reprisals if they go out—some of them—to celebrate Maduro's fall. "Yesterday we couldn't buy anything, there were too many people. Today we went out again. But the businesses seem half-closed for fear of looting," explains the same source from San Cristóbal.

Since the US attack early Saturday morning, some of the so-called collectivesThese are armed civilian groups that support, often violently, the Maduro government. In recent years, they have been dedicated to repressing protests and have been conspicuously present on the streets during periods of national tension. Although some of these paramilitary groups have been seen in the streets of Venezuela in recent hours, their presence has been less pronounced than on other occasions, and their actions have been very restrained, according to the report. New York TimesTheir current low profile can be interpreted as an attempt by the Venezuelan government to avoid chaos in the streets and thus demonstrate to Washington that it can maintain order in the country. The usual collaboration of the collectives —financed by Caracas— with the police and the army suggests they may have received orders to maintain that low profile.

Likewise, with a Venezuelan government that seemed to be falling apart over the weekend, Maduro's opposition is celebrating his capture with extreme caution. Meanwhile, news agencies report that the presence of security forces appears lighter than usual.

The rhetoric continues

With Maduro out of the game Delcy Rodríguez has been promotedThe woman who served as vice president and also as Minister of Hydrocarbons is now at the helm of Miraflores Palace. Thanks to her connections in the private sector and a certain knowledge of the oil industry, the country's main source of income, Rodríguez has long been considered the most pragmatic member of Maduro's inner circle. However, she has publicly contradicted Trump's assertion that she is willing to cooperate with the United States. "We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores," Rodríguez stated on Saturday. She also made it clear that Maduro is "the only president of Venezuela." But Trump, who has yet to see the Venezuelan government fall, has already warned her: "If you don't do the right thing, you will pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro." Higher than the price a Manhattan court will pay, possibly, for the rest of her life in a maximum-security prison. sheriff Regarding the region, he also hasn't said who he plans to lead Venezuela. When asked about opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, widely considered Maduro's most credible opponent, the US president didn't open the door for her: "She doesn't have the support or the respect within the country," he said. Trump also stated that other countries could be subject to US intervention. "We need Greenland, no doubt," he said about the island that is part of Denmark, a NATO member.