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We should stop mentioning Edmundo now; he fled Venezuela, he's not a leader and has no authority. He took advantage of his moment like all politicians and now lives comfortably retired abroad.
Yes, everyone here is thinking about survival and waiting to see what will happen, fearing something worse and hoping this dictatorship will end. Personally, I won't be at peace until the entire group that controls the country is removed or completely removed. I don't see a power vacuum; it's still in the hands of the same people who have been in power for 26 years, and although it pains me to say it, they are very well organized. The military, police, and armed groups continue to intimidate anyone who opposes this government.
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If Maduro is indeed in US custody the question becomes whether this is the beginning of a real dismantling of Chavismo or just a momentary disruption. Without a functioning opposition leadership inside the country the gap between potential change and actual change remains wide. International recognition of Edmundo González is one thing but in-country enforcement of his authority is another.
The risk is that this moment could collapse into either an internal power fight within the regime or a security vacuum that hurts ordinary citizens the most. The shortages and the quiet hoarding we are already seeing in Caracas are a sign that people expect instability. Markets and pharmacies filling with desperate buyers tell us the population is thinking in terms of survival not politics.
The outcome will depend less on who reads statements abroad and more on who has control of the military and the security forces in the next days. The next forty-eight hours will reveal whether this is a historic political turning point or another chapter in a long and exhausting struggle where the faces at the top change but the system itself remains untouched.