‘The homeland is the homeland’: Venezuelans brace for possible US attack

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Caracas, Venezuela – In the bustling plazas of Caracas, the bushed of regular beingness carries on. Street vendors merchantability chocolates and frozen fruit, portion shopkeepers banal shelves amid the day rush. Yet beneath this acquainted routine, a caller hostility hums.

With United States subject assets deployed adjacent the Venezuelan seashore and rhetoric heating up betwixt Washington and Caracas, the capital’s residents find themselves divided – a fewer by hope, others by scepticism, and inactive others by a fierce instinct to support their homeland.

For some, the beingness of overseas ships offshore represents a long-awaited reply to prayer. For others, it is an imperial affront to a sovereign nation.

“The homeland is the homeland, and my service is my army,” says David Oropeza, a 52-year-old husbandman and merchant who sells frozen strawberries and blackberries helium harvests himself. Despite a wellness information that requires attraction 3 times a week, helium says helium would beryllium consenting to combat if the US attacked.

“I would beryllium knee-deep successful the ungraded with those people. I would look [the invaders] with them [the Venezuelan army],” Oropeza tells Al Jazeera, arsenic helium waits for a autobus successful downtown Caracas, staring astatine the horizon. “I would assistance nevertheless I could.”

‘A affirmative change’

The US has conducted astir 2 twelve strikes since September successful the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, sidesplitting much than 80 people. In the latest onslaught connected Thursday, 4 radical were killed. The medication of US President Donald Trump has not presented grounds to enactment its assertion that the targeted boats contained narcotics oregon smugglers, nor that they were headed to the US. It has besides offered nary ineligible justification for the operations – actions galore experts accidental interruption planetary law.

Meanwhile, Trump has besides said that the US is preparing to onslaught alleged cause traffickers “on land”, suggesting that a nonstop subject cognition against Venezuela mightiness beryllium imminent.

Trump has deployed the world’s largest craft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford; thousands of troops; and F-35 subject jets to the Caribbean successful caller weeks, successful the biggest show of force successful the portion successful respective decades.

For immoderate successful Venezuela, this US unit connected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is bully for the country.

Carolina Tovar, 60, sits connected a seat successful 1 of the city’s busiest squares. A vendor selling chocolates and sweets, she says that with US pressure, “Venezuela is going to beryllium free”.

“The time volition travel erstwhile we get liberty,” she says. “I deliberation Maduro already feels a batch of pressure”.

Her comments bespeak wide frustrations and despair successful Venezuela. Maduro – whose astir 12 years successful bureau person been marked by heavy economical and societal crisis, and by repeated US efforts to unit oregon unseat his authorities – was sworn successful for a 3rd word successful January.

He was declared the victor of July’s election by Venezuela’s electoral authorization and apical court, though elaborate tallies confirming his triumph were ne'er released.

According to the opposition, their number of the voting records shows their campaigner Edmundo Gonzalez won by a wide borderline – a effect that has led the US and respective different governments to recognise him arsenic president-elect. Independent observers person besides questioned the election.

But Tovar is successful a number successful the country, per polls. Most Venezuelans are acold much disquieted astir regular survival, debased salaries and inflation, alternatively than geopolitics – and they bash not enactment US unit oregon an onslaught connected their country.

According to a canvass by Caracas-based steadfast Datanalisis past month, a bulk of Venezuelans proceed to reason economical sanctions connected the country. The canvass recovered that 55 percent of respondents disagree with sectoral, fiscal oregon lipid sanctions, portion lone 21 percent hold with them.

When it came to a overseas subject attack, 55 percent of Venezuelans opposed it, portion 23 percent said they would enactment it.

The reasons astir cited by those who reason an onslaught are civilian deaths, hazard of civilian war, chaos and prolonged economical deterioration. Supporters of a overseas propulsion for alteration successful Venezuela said they judge it would assistance fortify democracy, bring bid and assistance usher successful economical improvement.

The canvass suggests that astir Venezuelans bash not broadside with either the absorption oregon President Maduro. Sixty percent described themselves arsenic politically unaffiliated, compared with 13 percent supporting the authorities and 19 percent backing the opposition.

“I tin recognize that immoderate Venezuelans judge this benignant of unit from the US could bring astir governmental alteration and amended the situation,” says a authorities authoritative with a grade successful planetary affairs, speaking to Al Jazeera connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they are not authorised to talk to the media.

“However, from my perspective, outer interference is ne'er affirmative successful immoderate country,” the authoritative says. “We’ve seen that successful Panama, we’ve seen it successful Syria, Libya – and successful galore countries successful the Middle East.”

55% of Venezuelans disagree with a overseas subject intervention, arsenic opposed to 23% who enactment it, according to a caller Datanálisis canvass carried retired betwixt November 14 and 19, 2025. pic.twitter.com/SUV3wYMczv

— Francisco Rodríguez (@frrodriguezc) November 29, 2025

‘The homeland is the homeland’

A fewer blocks distant from Tovar, Oropeza is cynical – astir Venezuela and its elites, and astir Trump and his intentions. But helium is wide that warfare isn’t the reply to immoderate of those problems.

“Nobody wants war. We privation peace,” Oropeza says. He past reflects and refers to those whom helium believes bash privation war.

“US authorities moves a batch with its weaponry, and that generates wealth for whoever occupies the presidency,” helium argues, noting that unit mobilisation connected the Venezuelan broadside apt enriches the section elite arsenic well. “Who is getting rich? Them, and those we don’t know.”

Oropeza, who describes himself arsenic a erstwhile protagonist of the precocious President Hugo Chavez – Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, says helium is not a follower of the existent president.

Still, helium draws a hard enactment successful the soil regarding his sovereignty. His scepticism of the authorities does not construe into enactment for overseas attacks connected his country.

A subordinate of the Bolivarian Militia walks past a mural with the colors of the Venezuelan emblem

In caller months, Maduro has responded to rising tensions with his ain amusement of force. Troops and militia members person been mobilised, and soldiers person tested anti-air systems on the Caribbean coast.

By November, the authorities went further, announcing a “massive” mobilisation of troops and civilians to hole for any imaginable US action.

Scepticism and resources

Among the younger generation, immoderate judge that the US involvement successful Venezuela is fundamentally to bash with the country’s earthy resources.

“I deliberation we are screwed,” Diego Mejia, a 24-year-old supermarket stocker, says, arsenic helium hangs retired with his friends.

He doubts an penetration is imminent. “If the United States … wanted to travel here, they would person travel already.” But helium is wide astir what helium thinks the US is after. “Venezuela is simply a state with excessively galore resources,” helium notes, citing lipid and uranium. “They are funny successful Venezuela due to the fact that they request its resources.”

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven lipid reserves, much than 5 times much than the US, and important earthy state fields, making its vigor assemblage a cardinal pillar of planetary strategical interest.

Beyond hydrocarbons, Venezuela is besides affluent successful gold, diamonds, bauxite, robust ore and uncommon minerals specified arsenic coltan – materials indispensable for electronics, aerospace technologies and modern manufacturing.

But similar galore others, Mejia leans connected religion to woody with the anxiousness of a imaginable subject clash with the world’s biggest superpower. “I person my religion that God is not going to fto thing hap here,” helium says.

The information that the streets aren’t empty, and radical person not started hoarding food, suggests that galore stock the presumption that an onslaught isn’t imminent.

People remainder connected a seat successful a nationalist square, amid rising tensions betwixt the authorities of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro

The fearfulness of the chartless successful Venezuela

Others aren’t truthful sure.

For Dalibeth Brea, a 34-year-old homemaker watching her kid play successful a park, the concern evokes a analyzable premix of anticipation and maternal fear. The hostility is tangible adjacent successful her societal circle; a person refused to beryllium interviewed owed to fearfulness of repercussions astatine her authorities job.

Brea says she hopes the unit mightiness catalyse modernisation. “Internally … it seems affirmative due to the fact that it could bring thing bully to the country. Certain developments that we spot successful countries outside, I would similar to get here,” she says.

However, the imaginable of unit terrifies her. Unlike Oropeza’s willingness to fight, Brea’s instinct is to hide.

“I would structure myself retired of fear,” she admits. Her contingency program is simple: “Food astatine home, and support each my household successful 1 place.”

As the prima sets implicit a metropolis caught successful the crosshairs of geopolitics, Brea echoes the uncertainty felt by millions.

“I don’t cognize if thing volition happen,” she reflects. “Something tells maine yes, but thing tells maine no.”

(Elizabeth Melimopoulos contributed reporting connected this nonfiction from Canada)