Many Venezuelans have been reported to be living in a state of fear as armed police officers have reportedly taken over the streets of various townships in Venezuela.
According to a report by the BBC, a 33-year-old resident said there was “so much fear in the streets and in our homes.”
One community leader in the neighbourhood of Petare, in Caracas, told the media house that there were “hooded men with guns patrolling, checking people’s WhatsApp statuses.”
Another Caracas resident reportedly said that people were not able to talk freely about what was happening, with a heavy police and military presence on the streets, as well as pro-Maduro armed groups, known as “colectivos,” wearing masks.
This comes as members of the government appear keen to show that the security forces are visible in communities, with the Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello posting a photo of himself on Monday night posing with armed police.
Their presence has struck fear in people critical of the government.
One woman was reported to have described how “military people were on every corner and groups of armed civilians supporting the government who are causing fear among the population.”
Heavy gunfire reported near Venezuelan presidential palace
Journalists have also been affected by the security changes.
According to the BBC, 14 members of the press were detained in Venezuela on January 5, 2026, as they were covering the aftermath of the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by US forces.
The union representing media workers in Venezuela said all but one of those detained were employed by foreign news organisations and were released later on Monday, with one reporter deported.
The union said the media workers were detained by Venezuelan security forces at the National Assembly and its environs and in the neighbourhood of Altamira in the capital, Caracas.
Their detention came as former Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as the interim president, and shortly after, she said that she was willing to cooperate with the Trump administration, which has said it would “run” Venezuela.
At least two of them were seized by agents working for Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency, while others were detained by Venezuela’s intelligence service.
They said they had their equipment searched, their phones checked, and their social media posts and messages read, the union statement added.
A Colombian and a Spanish reporter were also detained at Venezuela’s border with Colombia near Cúcuta.
The two reporters were held for hours incommunicado before being released back into Colombia, the statement said.
The union called the incidents “alarming” and called for the release of 23 media workers who remain in detention in the country.
The journalist detentions come at a volatile time in Venezuela, where just days ago the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife were seized by US forces in a pre-dawn raid in which dozens of his bodyguards and security detail were killed.
While the seizure prompted celebrations among Venezuelans who oppose Maduro and who have left the country, there were no public displays of joy in Venezuela.
Opposition Venezuelans have long denounced the repression they face if they speak out against the Maduro government.
ID/AE
