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Collegedale, Tennessee
February 4, 2026
The morning Venezuelan students saw the world try to decide how they should feel
City of Caracas, where former president of Venezuela was captured on January 3, 2026. (Photo by Maria Flores, 2016).
Jehiely Balabarca Reporter For Venezuelan students at Southern Adventist University, Jan. 3 was not simply another geopolitical development. It was a moment where headlines collided with their memories of a place already shaped by years of political and humanitarian crisis. It was 2:05 a.m. in Venezuela when the extraction of President Nicolás Maduro started. By 3:39 a.m., it was done. By the following morning, one of the most important interventions in the history of Caracas had been executed. Before dawn, messages began to spread via phones and family group chats. Some of the earliest public reactions appeared on social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, where Venezuelans shared videos capturing moments of urgency, uncertainty and disbelief. Reports of explosions in and around Caracas started to circulate. Rumors spread that U.S. forces were operating in Venezuela. Some headlines went further, suggesting the detention or removal of Maduro. According to Reuters and the Associated Press, explosions were reported near Caracas, and U.S. military and intelligence activity in the region increased, though American officials declined to confirm claims regarding regime change or detentions. Venezuelan authorities denied any change in leadership and framed the events as external aggression. International coverage of the night’s events reflected a range of interpretations. Venezuelan state media outlets, including the state-run broadcaster Venezolana de Televisión, described the developments as an act of foreign interference, dismissing reports of the captured leader, according to The Associated Press. In the United States, some conservative commentators framed the
reports as a long-awaited response to an authoritarian government, while other international outlets, including The New York Times and Reuters, focused on the legal, ethical and geopolitical questions raised by U.S. involvement. On social media, the conversation expanded rapidly, with opinions multiplying. Expectations surfaced on various platforms regarding what the moment meant and how Venezuelans should feel about it. For Angélica Espinal, a sophomore digital communication major, the news arrived before sunrise. “For me, it was very hard to believe,” Espinal said. “There have been multiple unsuccessful attempts in the past to stop the regime, so when my mom woke me up at five in the morning, screaming that the U.S. was in Venezuela and they were trying to capture Maduro, to me it seemed too good to be true.” Her reaction carried something many Venezuelans recognized immediately: hope, carefully held. Espinal said what troubled her most was not the uncertainty of what would follow, but how quickly decades of lived reality were flattened into a headline. As coverage evolved, she observed that some media narratives became increasingly polarized, either condemning President Donald Trump’s actions or framing the moment as the fall of President Nicolás Maduro. She added that similar debates and pressure campaigns surrounding Venezuela had also intensified during previous U.S. administrations, underscoring how long the issue has remained politically charged. “It’s disappointing because it doesn’t show the full picture,” Espinal said. “We’re talking about decades of people suffering because they can’t have basic necessities, families separated, mass immigration and many other things that Venezuelan people faced every day. Reducing such a complex situation
to a headline minimizes the long-term impact it has had on millions of people.” She added that her feelings toward the moment were not one-sided or absolute. “Two things can be true,” Espinal said. “The way the U.S. has handled the situation raises skepticism among many and makes one question the role of the U.S. in the future of Venezuela, but at the same time this is the first time in many years we’ve seen a light of hope that there will be change in the country — and that there is actually a chance that we could go back to Venezuela.” When asked to describe her relation-
ship with Venezuela today, Espinal didn’t hesitate to share her thoughts. “I feel distant from my roots,” she said, “and I yearn for connection.” For Nolwin Guilarte, a senior digital communication major, the morning of Maduro’s arrest was overwhelming from the outset. “At the beginning [of January 2026], I went to sleep around midnight, not knowing what had started happening in my country,” Guilarte said. “By 6 a.m. I was awakened by my sister telling me See Venezuela on page 3
"ICE OUT INVEST IN." - Hamilton County protesters' slogan Read more on page 4 of Collegedale News
“I feel distant from my roots and I yearn for connection.” - Angélica Espinal