Months after Nicolás Maduro’s removal, pro-democracy activists in Venezuela have emerged from hiding but struggle to turn hope into influence. Opposition activist Anthony Romero, 35, spent nearly 600 days moving between safe houses to avoid capture by the secret police after challenging Maduro’s spurious claim to have won the 2024 presidential election. “He unleashed the harshest repression Venezuela has ever seen – we’re talking about nearly 3,000 arrests,” recalled Romero, a lawyer with María Corina Machado’s Vente Venezuela party.
On a recent Saturday, Romero canvassed in La Dolorita, a deprived Caracas neighbourhood, wearing the movement’s signature blue shirt. Such activism would have been a kamikaze mission before US special forces ended Maduro’s reign on 3 January. “We’d have been arrested immediately,” said activist Jonatan Molero, 46. The repression has eased, with Maduro’s successors largely tolerating protests, though no democratic transition has taken place and no election date has been set.
Analysts express doubts about the pace of change. A Chatham House report warns that momentum for reform is fading, with the Trump administration appearing content to leave Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, in power in exchange for economic concessions. Report author Christopher Sabatini said Washington’s “interest was never democracy … much to the frustration of the opposition.”
Despite this, some opposition supporters maintain faith in Donald Trump’s three-phase roadmap: stabilisation, economic recovery and political transition. “Donald Trump has been a great ally of democracy in Venezuela,” said retired carpenter Oswaldo Rodríguez, 59. However, a recent poll shows fraying patience among Venezuelans who hoped Maduro’s abduction would bring immediate democracy.
