“What Happens Now?” A Venezuelan’s “Boots on the Ground” Perspective

Editor’s Note:

In the aftermath of the US capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, many Americans were left with questions. Among those are “why did this happen?” And more importantly, “what happens now?”

Many of The Havok Journal’s readers are probably interested in knowing what Venezuelans themselves think about the situation. To answer that question, Havok Journal’s Matt Trevathan first spoke at length with a colleague who grew up in Venezuela before fleeing to Europe to escape Venezuela’s downward spiral.

These are not simply yet another true story of socialism failing or civilians caught in the crossfire of international politics. It is the story of how Venezuela’s democratic institutions were deliberately dismantled, replaced by a criminal state sustained through repression, corruption, and fear.

More importantly, it is the story of the true human cost of these outcomes.

This piece is significantly longer than our usual content, and is presented in interview format, with the interviewer’s questions in bold.

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Author’s Note:

“Juan” is like many of my friends in Venezuela right now: he is full of hope and has a great bit of fear. Unlike my friend Miguel, who grew up in Venezuela but now lives abroad, Juan still lives in Venezuela. And he often has to live in fear. His responses to the same questions that I asked Miguel are deeply personal and reflect his personal sacrifice, love of family and his love for his people. When I reached out to Juan, I didn’t know if he was going to be willing to respond. For him, responding to my interview could be construed as working against the government. And that could mean imprisonment, or worse.

Over the past few days, I’ve worried about his safety in responding to my request. This evening, he contacted me via our common channels, sent me an encrypted file then he deleted everything, concealing the trail of our communication. To honor his courage, I sat down immediately to edit his responses the best I could. It was important to me that the interview was changed as little as possible to give his personal experience and share his narrative with the readers.

Like Miguel, Juan is honest and passionate in the way he speaks. Juan isn’t a day laborer, he’s a skilled and educated college graduate that is struggling like most Venezuelans. And unlike so many people commenting on the situation in Venezuela from the safety and comfort of their own homes in places like North America and Europe, Juan is living the Venezuela reality on the ground.

I’m blessed to know him and pray for his safety. Here is his story.

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Background

Where did you grow up in Venezuela

I was born and raised in Araure, Portuguesa state, a small city in a predominantly agricultural state in the interior of the country that has always been called Venezuela’s breadbasket state, referencing its importance in national food production. If I am not mistaken, it is the place that maintains Venezuela’s basic food resources.

Are you speaking anonymously? Why?

I am speaking anonymously for my own safety. To answer this interview, I am taking extra protective measures such as using a VPN, encrypted files, and extreme caution in how I handle this information. If it were to fall into the hands of someone aligned with the current government, I could be accused of state terrorism and face a minimum of 15 years in prison. Freedom of speech is considered treason against the homeland here.

Life Before vs. After

What changed most in daily life from Hugo Chávez to Maduro? Did Chavez and Maduro make Venezuela better or worse?

Since Chavez, everything changed for the worse. It is not that one was better than the other. The deterioration has been continuous and unrelenting. At this point, I cannot find anything that either Hugo Chávez or Nicolás Maduro did for the benefit of the Venezuelan people. I know I am being vague, but if I were to detail education, culture, investment, the economy, healthcare, civil protection, and respect for human rights, this interview would last days. The deterioration of these areas, and many others I am leaving out, has affected every Venezuelan citizen and has only benefited the authoritarian elite of the current government.

Both Chávez and Maduro have used state resources solely for their own benefit and that of their inner circle. Many Venezuelans believe that under Chávez things were not as out of control, but personally, from the first minute of his presidency, the dictatorial intention to establish an authoritarian regime was crystal clear. What is true is that Chávez was far more intelligent and strategic than any representative of the current government. Today, everything is applied dictatorially, and anyone who disagrees faces the illusion of law that the government itself created.

Economy & Survival

What work do you do now, and is your income enough to live on?

I studied Telecommunications Engineering at a private university, but I never practiced in that field because I discovered that my calling was more aligned with communication, specifically graphic communication. Today I work as a graphic designer, junior user interface designer, and junior front-end developer. Work in Venezuela is scarce. I experience periods of good income and periods of bad income. It is inconsistent because I depend heavily on the economic capacity of Venezuelan clients. Out of every 20 work proposals I submit locally, only one or two can afford my services.

During good periods, I can cover my basic expenses and a little more. During bad periods, I cannot cover essentials such as water, electricity, internet, mobile phone service, or food.

How do you get food today, and how has the cost changed in the past year?

Getting food today is extremely difficult because prices are unreal. I lived for three years in Quito, Ecuador, a metropolitan city of about 2.8 million people, compared to my city, which does not even reach 180,000 inhabitants. Despite this, the cost of living in my city is triple what it was in Quito. Before the pandemic, while I lived in Ecuador, Venezuela suffered extreme product scarcity. Supermarkets were literally empty. Today, product availability is higher, but prices are completely disconnected from purchasing power.

A basic two week grocery run costs around 400 dollars for essential items, while the average salary is about 50 dollars, and that is only because companies choose to pay that amount. The legal minimum salary is equivalent to about 3 dollars in bolívares. In my case, most of my income is paid in dollars through Zelle or USDT. To spend it, I must convert it to bolívares in very limited amounts because the dollar devalues by about half a point daily. This means that a dollar is worth a third of what it was a month ago. Exchanging medium amounts of dollars makes no sense unless you spend them the same day.

There is no official exchange control. Buying or selling foreign currency must be done privately and with trusted people. Otherwise, you can be charged with crimes against the sovereign state. The currency has had 16 zeros removed over time. To hide hyperinflation, the state simply reprints bills by removing zeros. Since Chávez took power, one dollar has gone from costing a few bolivars to costing 3,260,000,000,000,000 bolivars.

All goods and services are priced based on the dollar, but it is illegal for registered businesses to charge in dollars. This contradiction allows many people and companies to profit from exchange manipulation. Some of us refuse to take advantage of economic misfortune to enrich ourselves. Every time a Venezuelan buys even bread, water, or a kilo of rice, they are forced to accept losses due to this system.

Infrastructure

How often do you lose electricity or water, and how long do outages last?

For the past 10 years, we have lived with daily or near daily power outages. The duration depends on location. Because my state is agriculturally important, outages are shorter than in other regions, usually three to five hours, several times a week. There are periods when outages increase dramatically.

Water access is equally unstable. When it rains, potable and sewage water service is often cut for more than 24 hours because water treatment facilities have been deteriorating for over 20 years. The system cannot handle increased water flow, so service is simply shut down.

Repression & Fear

What happens to people who openly criticize the government?

People who openly criticize the government are accused of state terrorism and face minimum sentences of 15 years in prison or torture centers, in the best case scenario. There are documented disappearances and state backed homicides. I know people who have been detained, threatened, or disappeared, both directly and indirectly.

Public Sentiment

Do people support Maduro—or are they afraid to oppose him? Why?

Approximately 76 percent of Venezuelans do not support Maduro. Opposition is suppressed through years of physical and psychological abuse. From peaceful protests to a voice message in a family chat, anything can be used against you. Protests always end the same way, with military repression, disappearances, political prisoners, arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and persecution. This is not fear. It is survival instinct.

Migration

Has your family tried to leave Venezuela? What risks did they face? Why have you stayed?

My entire family is currently outside Venezuela. I was also abroad. After the pandemic, I returned to help my parents while my sisters prepared to leave. My parents are elderly, and I owe them everything. Later, with enormous effort, we managed to get them out of the country. Even so, my family and I continue to support them financially, even while I remain here. If I have to skip meals to do so, I will.

What I want most is to see my country progress so that the opportunities more than 10 million Venezuelans were forced to seek abroad can exist here. There is something rarely said publicly. Venezuelans abroad feel deep gratitude toward the countries that welcomed them. Despite how difficult adaptation and rebuilding life has been, we remain eternally grateful.

Leaving Venezuela is a gamble. You can be extorted, denied exit, have false legal cases created against you, or be allowed to leave peacefully. The Venezuelan passport is now heavily restricted worldwide, despite once being among the strongest in the world. I remain here for two reasons. I lack the financial resources to leave, and I want to contribute to a better future for my country.

Opposition

What does María Corina Machado represent to ordinary Venezuelans?

María Corina Machado represents respect and admiration because of her actions. She has never given up. She was one of the first to publicly confront Chávez. She has resisted countless attempts to remove her from politics. She has consistently stood with the people during the most critical moments. She provided physical evidence of electoral fraud and has always promoted peaceful, inclusive, and nonviolent strategies. Over the past two years, she has become the central figure of the opposition, which made her the government’s primary political enemy. None of the recent events would have been possible without her resilience.

Foreign Involvement

How do Venezuelans view U.S. involvement—sanctions, pressure, and capture of Maduro?

No country wants foreign interference in its future. But in extreme cases like Venezuela’s, many support international sanctions and legal pressure against those responsible for drug trafficking, murder, political imprisonment, and human rights abuses. Venezuelans may not say it openly, but many believe that removing the current regime is necessary for survival. The people have waited years for international help to dismantle a system sustained by weapons against an unarmed population.

Closing

What is the one thing Americans misunderstand most about what has happened to Venezuela?

What Americans misunderstand most is that Venezuelans have been asking for international help for years. We understand it will come at a cost, but that cost is not an obstacle to freedom, democracy, and opportunity. We are not begging for material aid or ideological validation. We simply want a free country with a future.

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Matt is the SVP of Technology and Architecture at Nymbus, a SaaS banking provider. He has traveled extensively in the United States and overseas for business and recreation. His travels include India, Mexico, Europe, China, and Japan. Matt is a prolific writer and storyteller whose work bridges innovation, global travel, and meaningful human connection. A graduate of Mercer University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, and the holder of over 270 patents, Matt’s career spans technology leadership, creative exploration, and community engagement. His articles blend technical insight with a traveler’s curiosity, appealing to readers across technology, travel, and creative communities.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.