Venezuela at a Crossroads as Captured Maduro Faces Trial in US
The US has captured Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro and is set to put him on trial. But what's next for Venezuela is uncertain as Venezuelans themselves have sharply contrasting views on their future, with the US not ruling out the use of more force against the country.
Uncertainty in Venezuela
REPORTER: Venezuela is at a crossroads as its captured president faces trial in the US. Venezuelans themselves are at odds about the country’s future. And the threat of more force from Washington hangs over them. John Van Trieste reports.
REPORTER: Moto-taxi driver Jonathan Mallora surveys the ruins of his home near the Venezuelan capital Caracas. The US hit the area as part of an operation to capture President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend. The target was a naval academy nearby. But the attack killed civilians and wrecked homes, too. People here wonder--why them?
Jonathan Mallora:
Now I'm hoping for a quick response from the government to help my family, my children, because they very nearly killed my kids here, you know—my kids were almost killed. Up there, there were families too—two elderly women died because of these acts that never should have happened. Because we aren't to blame for what happens in the world. They have their problems and we have ours. Now look at all this chaos—I don't agree with this, gentlemen.
REPORTER: But while those impacted by the strikes face the most uncertainty, the whole country is unsure what comes next.
REPORTER: Maduro will soon appear in this New York courthouse to face charges including narco-trafficking. His nearly 13 years in office—marred by accusations of election fraud--look to be finished.
REPORTER: But he's just one part of a populist left-wing political movement that’s run Venezuela since 1999—and put the country at odds with the US. Will his removal be enough to bring a change of course?
REPORTER: Washington expects it will. US President Donald Trump has spoken of running Venezuela and restoring the country’s oil infrastructure. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that while it’s too early to expect elections, the US is using a military quarantine of oil exports to push for yielding to America's expectations.
Marco Rubio (SECRETARY OF STATE):
That will continue to be in place until the people who have control over the levers of power in that country make changes that are not just in the interest of the people of Venezuela, but are in the interest of the United States and the things that we care about.
REPORTER: But Venezuelans themselves are deeply split about what should come next. On the one hand are the exiles. Around a fifth of Venezuela’s population has left the country during Maduro’s time in power—pushed by economic and human rights woes. Amid celebrations, some say they back a transition to a new government under the watch of the Trump administration.
Unnamed exile:
This is what has to happen, why? Because government entities are still not clean, the defense minister still hasn't left, still hasn't handed over power, so we can't let our political leaders take over the government until they leave. It would be a risk to leave them and put our leaders in.
REPORTER: But in Venezuela itself, Maduro’s deputies are still in charge. And a protest demanding his release shows his government still has support.
Unnamed protester:
We don't want them to impose a Yankee government on us, we are free and sovereign, we are a people with guarantees in the Bolivarian constitution, we are a free people, free and sovereign, Donald Trump is not going to take our oil, Rubio is not going to govern us, we have a president and a vice president who will assume for now, but our president is Nicolás Maduro.
REPORTER: Trump says the focus now is on—quote—fixing up Venezuela with elections to follow at some later date. He told reporters on Air Force One that the US is in charge of Venezuela—and in this exchange, had this warning for the country’s interim leadership.
Donald Trump (PRESIDENT):
Speaking of those U.S. troops, I mean, one thing that Americans and a lot of people are wondering, you just sounded like you weighed out another strike. Another strike, at least in Venezuela. You sound like you weighed that out.
But we haven't. We didn't need it. We were prepared to do a second strike if we needed. We're totally prepared, but we're still prepared.
That's off the table now.
No it's not. If they don't behave, we will do a second strike.
REPORTER: With Venezuelans divided and the US saying it will call the shots from here on out, a contest for Venezuela’s future is underway.
Justin Wu and John Van Trieste for TaiwanPlus.
