A month after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a raid that Washington says was tied to longstanding drug-trafficking indictments, daily life for most Venezuelans is defined less by a change at the top than by the stubborn continuation of the nation’s economic collapse.
The uncertain moment is the focus of “Crisis in Venezuela,” a new documentary by FRONTLINE and The Associated Press premiering Feb. 10 on PBS, which examines who holds power after Maduro’s capture — and what that means for ordinary Venezuelans still waiting for medicine, steady electricity and a future that feels less like survival.
In the hours after the U.S. Maduro snatch-and-grab operation, some Venezuelans celebrated the prospect that Maduro’s era of corruption and political repression might finally end. But the repressive corrupt political apparatus he built remains in place.
Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, is running the government. This continuity has fueled skepticism among opposition activists who had hoped for an immediate democratic opening with human rights reforms and new elections.
President Donald Trump has said the United States will “run” the country during a transition and has moved aggressively to control oil sales and revenues. This a strategy U.S. officials argue is designed to stabilize the economy and prevent sanctioned networks from profiting. In a Truth Social post Trump even declared himself to be the “acting president of Venezuela.”
Venezuela’s oil output has rebounded toward 1 million barrels a day but there has been no sign of economic relief at the household level. Prices and wages are still being squeezed by inflation that analysts estimated topped 400% last year.
Politically, the government has announced prisoner releases and floated an amnesty framework, but the mixed signals have been stark. This week, opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa was reported seized by armed men shortly after his release, raising fresh doubts about whether reforms are real or merely tactical concessions under pressure.
The broader humanitarian picture remains grim: international agencies estimate roughly 8 million people inside the country need assistance, while nearly 7.9 million Venezuelans have fled as refugees or migrants over the years of crisis.
Guest:
Juan Ravell is a documentary director from Caracas, Venezuela. He directed the FRONTLINE (PBS) and Armando.info film “A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela,” which was nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Documentary.
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This episode will be recorded on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
