Many Venezuelans are too scared to leave homepublished at 12:53 GMT
12:53 GMT
Mimi Swaby
Global affairs reporter
Victoria lives in the centre-west of Venezuela. She hasn’t left home since Saturday, despite the state of commotion – a national emergency – being lifted.
She tells me she is too scared to go outside, in case something happens. Victoria says the streets are practically empty, and many shops remain shut due to the uncertainty.
Nobody wants to risk encountering armed police.
But what scares her more are the armed civilian groups that are “stopping people and checking their phones to see if you have content related to the situation”. And if so, “taking you to prison”, she says.
Venezuelans “are happy that January third was the beginning of the end of this government,” she adds, “but there are still many government figures in charge, and repression, intimidation, and fear remain in each of us.”
As we’ve been reporting, dozens of military checkpoints have sprung up in Caracas, and foreign journalists are unable to enter the capital city.