Venezuelan Activist Warns of Escalating Repression After Maduro’s Capture

Caracas, Venezuela — January 7, 2026

José Antonio Colina, president of the non-governmental organization Venezuelans Persecuted Politically in Exile (VEPPEX), warned that Venezuela’s socialist regime has sharply intensified repression against civilians and journalists following the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro by U.S. law enforcement authorities.

In remarks to Breitbart News, Colina, a retired military officer and political exile, described an atmosphere of fear across the country in the days following Saturday’s operation in Caracas that resulted in the detention of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The Venezuelan government is now being led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who has declared herself “acting president.”

Shortly after the capture, the regime issued a nationwide “State of Emergency” decree. The measure authorizes national, state, and municipal police forces to search for and detain “any person involved in promoting or supporting the armed attack by the United States of America against the territory of the Republic.”

On Monday night, the official Instagram account of the Mérida state police reported the arrest of two men, aged 64 and 65, in the municipality of Guaraque for allegedly celebrating what authorities described as the “kidnapping” of Nicolás Maduro.

“When Maduro was captured, people celebrated openly in Madrid, Doral, and across Colombia,” Colina said. “In Venezuela, no one went out to the streets. People are terrified of the regime’s repressive apparatus. Anyone caught celebrating will be thrown in jail.”

Colina pointed to recent public threats made by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello—long accused of involvement in drug trafficking—as evidence of the regime’s escalating crackdown.

“The fact that Diosdado Cabello is heading the repressive apparatus is extremely worrying,” Colina said. “He directs the strategies of the Venezuelan tyranny. He had already warned that if there was an intervention, the regime would retaliate against the population.”

According to Colina, armed pro-government groups known as colectivos have been deployed throughout Venezuelan cities since Maduro’s capture. These groups, he said, have gone door-to-door intimidating citizens, checking mobile phones for messages critical of the regime or supportive of U.S. actions, and setting up informal checkpoints in streets and neighborhoods.

“The persecution is being carried out by groups under the direct control of Diosdado Cabello,” Colina stated.

Journalists have also been targeted in the crackdown. The Venezuelan National Press Workers’ Union (SNTP) reported that at least 14 journalists—many affiliated with international media outlets—were detained by government officials on Monday. Thirteen were later released, while one journalist was deported.

Colina said reprisals against the media began almost immediately, including during what he described as the “false swearing-in” ceremony of Delcy Rodríguez. He claimed journalists were prohibited from recording video or taking photographs at the event.

“They arrest journalists to generate panic and fear,” Colina said. “That journalist will think twice before publishing anything critical of the regime. The goal is to intimidate the rest of the press.”

Due to strict censorship and government control of traditional media, Colina noted that many Venezuelans learned about the U.S. operation against Maduro only through social media platforms.

Despite claims of a democratic transition, Colina asserted that Rodríguez’s government has shown no indication of following U.S. guidelines or commitments, including the release of hundreds of political prisoners still being held.

“A country with political prisoners is not a stable country,” he said.

Colina urged the United States to closely monitor whether Rodríguez and other regime figures are genuinely implementing a democratic transition. “From what we see,” he added, “they are not.”