We’ve just heard from US Vice President JD Vance.
He says in a post on X: “The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States.
“Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says. Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation.”In Caracas, there is apprehension in the streets. People barely speak out, but there are queues in pharmacies and supermarkets.
WhatsApp groups are bursting with messages and videos, while people in the streets of Eastern Caracas are mostly silent.
“Do you know what happened?” a woman asks me in a low voice outside a plaza. She went out to get medicine for her nerves but found the 24-hour pharmacy closed.
“Please don’t record me,” she asks. A strong smell, reminding me of tear gas – so familiar from the famous protests of 2017 – seeps through my window.
I’m in a high-rise building, in the eastern part of the capital, Caracas. My mother notices it too.
Earlier, on the balconies of nearby buildings, there was an outburst of euphoria minutes after a message began circulating on social media from President Donald Trump announcing the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
But the shouts lasted only seconds.
A supermarket that also operates 24-hours kept its shutters down for most of the morning, with a line of people waiting for it to open.
