Colombian police officers keep watch as Venezuelan citizens cross the Simon Bolivar International Bridge from San Antonio and San Cristobal, Venezuela, into Cucuta and Villa del Rosario, Colombia, on Saturday after the United States has captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Photo by Mario Caicedo/EPA
Venezuela has activated a new internal control framework that orders full mobilization of security forces and coincides with the installation of checkpoints, armed patrols in Caracas and reports of the presence of pro-government civilian groups.
The decree, published Saturday, declares a state of external emergency across the entire country after what the government describes as a foreign armed attack — the bombing by the States and capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
The text significantly expands the powers of security forces and authorizes the application of exceptional internal control measures, including restrictions on movement, public gatherings and certain civil guarantees.
One of the most sensitive provisions of the decree is Article 5, which orders national, state and municipal police forces to immediately search for and detain anyone involved in promoting or supporting the armed attack and to placed them at the disposal of the criminal justice system.
In the hours after the decree, vehicle checkpoints began to appear across several areas of Caracas, with a visible presence of armed security forces carrying out patrols and inspections.
Images and videos circulated on official social media accounts of Venezuela’s Justice Ministry showing police officers deployed on the streets of the capital as part of the internal control operation.
Photographs posted on Instagram showing Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello touring parts of Caracas alongside heavily armed security personnel.
According to messages accompanying the posts, Cabello personally supervised the security deployments in the capital as part of the measures adopted under the emergency decree. In one video, the security members can be seen shouting “loyal always, traitors never!”
“Terror night, kidnapping and intimidation by Cabello and his gang of thugs in Caracas,” economist and professor Daniel Lacalle wrote on X, citing a video showing a convoy of police vehicles moving through the city.
In the same context, the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Prensa, or SNTP, reported that on Monday, during the installation of the National Assembly, 14 journalists and media workers were detained in Caracas, 13 of them from international media outlets and agencies and one from a domestic outlet.
According to the union, 13 of those detained were released hours later, while one was deported. The detentions took place inside the National Assembly building, in surrounding areas and in eastern Caracas.
SNTP documented the inspection of work equipment, forced unlocking of mobile phones and tracking calls and messages on communication platforms and social networks. Agents also accessed photographs, videos, contacts, conversations, voice notes, emails and files stored in the cloud.
The union added that two reporters, one Spanish and one Colombian, were detained at the Venezuela-Colombia border. Both were held incommunicado for several hours before being released and returning to Colombian territory.
SNTP described the situation as “alarming” and reiterated its demand for guarantees for the free exercise of journalism, an end to persecution and the release of 23 journalists and media workers who, according to the organization, remain detained in Venezuela.
At the same time, reports began to circulate about the presence of armed civilian groups, locally known as “pro-government colectivos,” in several parts of Caracas, particularly in high-traffic areas.
The colectivos are pro-government, armed civilian organizations that emerged during the administration of former President Hugo Chávez. They operate mainly in urban neighborhoods and have repeatedly been identified by human rights organizations and opposition groups as being involved in territorial control and political intimidation.
The Venezuelan government maintains that these groups are community organizations and denies that they act as paramilitary forces, although many citizens say the government is responsible for deploying them.
According to local media reports and residents’ accounts, these groups have moved through the capital in recent days in motorcycle caravans, carrying visible weapons and conducting surveillance patrols. The heaviest presence was reported along the Cota Mil avenue, one of Caracas’ main thoroughfares.
Numerous complaints have been raised about the colectivos, with citizens warning each other about their presence on social media.
“Police and pro-government colectivos are setting up checkpoints across Caracas, inspecting phones and vehicles. Anyone with a photo of Trump is being illegally kidnapped,” Venezuelan journalist Eduardo Menoni wrote on X.
Residents consulted by the local media described a climate of fear and withdrawal. Some said they prefer to remain inside their homes due to the possibility of informal checkpoints and inspections. Others said that when moving around the city, they avoid carrying sensitive information on their mobile phones for fear of searches.
“It’s distressing to go out. Before leaving, I delete my chats,” one woman told elperiodico.com.
