Reunions and Re-Arrests Define Venezuela’s Post-Maduro Era

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No Repression 

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Students marched last week in Caracas and other cities demanding the release of political prisoners and “no more abuse of power.” Workers and relatives of the detainees joined them. Unlike past months and years, the government didn’t try to quell the demonstrations. Rodríguez later said she was pleased that “diverse, plural youth” could express themselves.

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Still, one student leader in Caracas, Miguelangel Suárez, later said he had been followed by a car in what he described as “clear harassment” and part of “the State’s repressive policies.”

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In January, Suárez confronted Rodríguez during her visit to the Central University of Venezuela, where he heads the student federation, demanding the release of detained professors and classmates, a move that would have been unthinkable before Jan. 3.

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In a rare display of openness to dialogue with dissidents, state television later aired images of the encounter. Days later, it also aired footage of Jorge Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly and brother of the acting president, visiting a prison where political detainees are being held, during which he was also confronted by distressed relatives of those imprisoned.

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There were 622 peaceful protests in January — an average of 21 per day — a 53% increase compared with the same month last year, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict. In 2025, protest activity had sharply declined as authorities tightened their grip after the disputed 2024 vote.

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“People are beginning to go out to speed up the process of democratization,” said Nicmer Evans, a political analyst and activist who was among those released from the Helicoide earlier this year. “The Rodríguez siblings don’t represent real change. They represent permanence in power, but with a gun to their head.”

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Rising Publicly

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A month after Venezuela’s 2024 presidential vote, longtime opposition politician Delsa Solórzano realized she could no longer remain in public. Unidentified agents were stationed outside her home 24 hours a day, monitoring her and her family. She left with only what she was wearing, two rosaries and her ID card, disappearing from the streets where she campaigned alongside Machado just weeks earlier.

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Without a SIM card, she relied on Wi-Fi and electricity to stay connected. She filled her hours by writing and studying, while continuing to meet, debate and draft roadmaps for the future with other opposition leaders, reinventing how to do politics without appearing in public.

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When interim authorities on Jan. 8 announced the release of political prisoners, it was an emotional moment for Solórzano and others who had been in hiding — and they decided to begin stepping back into public life.

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“What did we feel? That we might have a voice again,” Solórzano said in a phone interview, her voice cracking. “Venezuelans are hoping this is true, that this new stage has truly begun, that the end of persecution has finally started, that the end of the pain has finally arrived.”

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On Feb. 5, renowned radio host Shirley Varnagy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For a few seconds, she didn’t speak. She pressed the bridge of her nose, as if steadying herself, then put on her headphones and looked up.

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“Good morning. Here I am, back,” she said. “We’re together again.”

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After five months of silence following her report on Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination, Varnagy was once again live on her morning show.

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The moment came just a day after Germany’s international public broadcaster DW correspondent Álvaro Algarra was taken from his home by police and briefly detained — a reminder that even as independent voices return to the airwaves, politicians emerge from hiding and prisoners are released, the government’s repressive tendencies haven’t fully gone away.

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