https://sg.news.yahoo.com/uncertainty-cautious-optimism-venezuelans-pore-123411528.html
Wed, 7 January 2026 at 8:34 pm SGT
4 min read
Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores being escorted to a courthouse in New York on Jan 5.
SINGAPORE – On Jan 3, Martin was driving to a meeting at VivoCity at about 2pm when the 39-year-old received an unexpected call from his brother in Venezuela.
“It’s happening. The US is bombing Venezuela,” his brother said over the phone.
Some 15,000km away, a twilight military operation was under way in Martin’s birth country that would see US military forces launch strikes and seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to face criminal charges in the United States.
Speaking to The Straits Times on Jan 6, Martin said his immediate reaction was worry for his father and siblings, who live in the capital Caracas and other Venezuelan cities such as Guacara.
A naturalised Singaporean working in the entertainment industry here, he declined to give his surname as he wanted to protect his family back home.
“I was very anxious, very worried,” he said. “Because when these things happen, you cannot do anything, being so far away.”
Over a 2½-hour period, US strikes hit Caracas as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, according to the Venezuelan government.
Martin’s brother, who lives about a 30-minute drive from La Guaira city with his wife and two daughters, told him that they could feel the impact of the explosions from their home.
After that call, Martin scrambled to check in with other friends and family members in Venezuela, and was assured via voice messages that they were safe.
Initial reports estimated that 55 security personnel were killed in the operation, but more recent assessments suggested that fatalities were higher and may have included civilians.
“It was a relief to hear that (they were well). My father is almost 80 years old, so I was happy to know that he and everybody were okay,” said Martin, whose account mirrored those of other Venezuelans living in Singapore.
Maduro’s capture has been the talk of the wider Hispanic community here, after US President Donald Trump followed the operation with rhetoric on Jan 5 that threatened military action against Colombia, and said that he believed the government in Cuba was likely to fall soon.
Latin American Chamber of Commerce, Singapore founder Angela Torres, 47, said her friends in Venezuela have expressed a sense of cautious optimism following Maduro’s capture.
She said that in the past, Venezuela was a very wealthy country, with a robust industry and an economy heavily concentrated in oil.
“What is happening in Venezuela is actually very complex because even as Maduro has been taken out, the complication is that his regime remains,” said Ms Torres, who is also executive director of the chamber of commerce.
“There is still a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty, everything is very silent and quiet at the moment in Venezuela,” she added. “Everybody’s like, in a wait-and-see mode.”
Ms Torres, who is Colombian, said people are wondering if there will be follow-up operations to detain Maduro loyalists. Mr Trump has warned Venezuela’s remaining leaders that they could be targeted if they do not cooperate with Washington.
For one Venezuelan woman who has lived in Singapore for about a decade, initial happiness over the US capture of Maduro dissipated when it became clear that the post-Maduro government would still be staffed by the same establishment.
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in on Jan 5, was formerly the country’s vice-president under Maduro.
The Venezuelan woman in Singapore, who declined to be named out of concern for her family back home, described the situation under the previous regime as having become “crueller and more repressive” year after year.
An estimated 7.7 million Venezuelans, or about a fifth of the population, have left their homeland since 2014 to escape Venezuela’s economic and political crisis.
“My country is so rich in resources and opportunity, yet nowadays, people are living so poorly,” she said, adding that several of her peers had sought better lives abroad.
After she learnt of the US military operation, the woman, who is in her 40s, checked in with her family in Venezuela via WhatsApp and was relieved that they were safe.
She said: “I’m watching the situation to see how it develops. For me to be optimistic (about Venezuela’s future), there needs to be more changes.”
Ms Torres said many Colombians are optimistic that the recent events may be good for Venezuela’s long-term prospects. She noted that the two countries, which share an extensive border, used to be each other’s main trading partner.
She dismissed Mr Trump’s threat of military action against Colombia, noting that Colombia and Venezuela are in very different situations.
“Even while (Colombian) President Gustavo Petro and President Trump have a lot of disagreements, President Petro was democratically elected, and he is in the final term. A new president will be elected on May 31,” she said.
“Colombia has also been very close to the US administration for many years before this. Most importantly, Colombia has very strong institutions, like the courts and Congress.”
Uncertainty, cautious optimism for Venezuelans in S’pore after capture of Maduro
Samuel DevarajWed, 7 January 2026 at 8:34 pm SGT
4 min read
Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores being escorted to a courthouse in New York on Jan 5.
SINGAPORE – On Jan 3, Martin was driving to a meeting at VivoCity at about 2pm when the 39-year-old received an unexpected call from his brother in Venezuela.
“It’s happening. The US is bombing Venezuela,” his brother said over the phone.
Some 15,000km away, a twilight military operation was under way in Martin’s birth country that would see US military forces launch strikes and seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to face criminal charges in the United States.
Speaking to The Straits Times on Jan 6, Martin said his immediate reaction was worry for his father and siblings, who live in the capital Caracas and other Venezuelan cities such as Guacara.
A naturalised Singaporean working in the entertainment industry here, he declined to give his surname as he wanted to protect his family back home.
“I was very anxious, very worried,” he said. “Because when these things happen, you cannot do anything, being so far away.”
Over a 2½-hour period, US strikes hit Caracas as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, according to the Venezuelan government.
Martin’s brother, who lives about a 30-minute drive from La Guaira city with his wife and two daughters, told him that they could feel the impact of the explosions from their home.
After that call, Martin scrambled to check in with other friends and family members in Venezuela, and was assured via voice messages that they were safe.
Initial reports estimated that 55 security personnel were killed in the operation, but more recent assessments suggested that fatalities were higher and may have included civilians.
“It was a relief to hear that (they were well). My father is almost 80 years old, so I was happy to know that he and everybody were okay,” said Martin, whose account mirrored those of other Venezuelans living in Singapore.
Maduro’s capture has been the talk of the wider Hispanic community here, after US President Donald Trump followed the operation with rhetoric on Jan 5 that threatened military action against Colombia, and said that he believed the government in Cuba was likely to fall soon.
Latin American Chamber of Commerce, Singapore founder Angela Torres, 47, said her friends in Venezuela have expressed a sense of cautious optimism following Maduro’s capture.
She said that in the past, Venezuela was a very wealthy country, with a robust industry and an economy heavily concentrated in oil.
“What is happening in Venezuela is actually very complex because even as Maduro has been taken out, the complication is that his regime remains,” said Ms Torres, who is also executive director of the chamber of commerce.
“There is still a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty, everything is very silent and quiet at the moment in Venezuela,” she added. “Everybody’s like, in a wait-and-see mode.”
Ms Torres, who is Colombian, said people are wondering if there will be follow-up operations to detain Maduro loyalists. Mr Trump has warned Venezuela’s remaining leaders that they could be targeted if they do not cooperate with Washington.
For one Venezuelan woman who has lived in Singapore for about a decade, initial happiness over the US capture of Maduro dissipated when it became clear that the post-Maduro government would still be staffed by the same establishment.
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in on Jan 5, was formerly the country’s vice-president under Maduro.
The Venezuelan woman in Singapore, who declined to be named out of concern for her family back home, described the situation under the previous regime as having become “crueller and more repressive” year after year.
An estimated 7.7 million Venezuelans, or about a fifth of the population, have left their homeland since 2014 to escape Venezuela’s economic and political crisis.
“My country is so rich in resources and opportunity, yet nowadays, people are living so poorly,” she said, adding that several of her peers had sought better lives abroad.
After she learnt of the US military operation, the woman, who is in her 40s, checked in with her family in Venezuela via WhatsApp and was relieved that they were safe.
She said: “I’m watching the situation to see how it develops. For me to be optimistic (about Venezuela’s future), there needs to be more changes.”
Ms Torres said many Colombians are optimistic that the recent events may be good for Venezuela’s long-term prospects. She noted that the two countries, which share an extensive border, used to be each other’s main trading partner.
She dismissed Mr Trump’s threat of military action against Colombia, noting that Colombia and Venezuela are in very different situations.
“Even while (Colombian) President Gustavo Petro and President Trump have a lot of disagreements, President Petro was democratically elected, and he is in the final term. A new president will be elected on May 31,” she said.
“Colombia has also been very close to the US administration for many years before this. Most importantly, Colombia has very strong institutions, like the courts and Congress.”
