“Mommy, is there going to be war in Venezuela?” It was her son Samuel’s question that surprised Vanessa one night while she was watching the news on her cell phone in the kitchen of her house, very close to her Christmas tree.
This professional, who lives in a middle-class neighborhood in the east of Caracas and preferred not to identify herself for fear of government reprisals, says that the question came up suddenly and was followed by the boy’s story about a friend from school who had asked Saint Nicholas to free his father, who was imprisoned for political reasons.
Eight-year-old Samuel then said, “I’m going to ask Baby Jesus to let me live in a country with freedom.”
This is no ordinary Christmas in Venezuela. Lights and decorations have been shining on the streets, buildings and squares of the country’s main cities since October, when, as has been the case in previous years,
These festivities, however, are not immune to the growing tensions between the Maduro government in Venezuela and that of Donald Trump in the United States, which are affecting the spirits of Venezuelans, who are also suffering from an economic crisis that threatens to worsen due to the American blockade of sanctioned oil tankers.
After more than four months of US naval and air presence, and amid bellicose rhetoric between Caracas and Washington, discouragement increased with the suspension of international flights to and from Venezuela.
Only two of the 12 airlines operating flights to or from the country as of early November maintain connections between Venezuela and other nations, and hundreds of Venezuelans have had to change their travel plans or cancel them altogether.
The challenge of protecting children
The tension surrounding this Christmas period is noticeable in several parts of Caracas.
Norbelys Castillo, from the La Dolorita neighborhood in Petare, is a hairdresser and mother of six-year-old Fran, who enthusiastically participated, along with dozens of other children, in a toy collection campaign organized by a group of journalists called “A Toy, Good News”.
Everyone went home with a gift, a happy memory and a smile.
Castillo confesses that he made a huge effort to protect his son from what is happening in the country and tensions with the United States. She tries to stop Fran from feeling afraid when the American president says he doesn’t rule out a war with Venezuela or when the Venezuelan president says he wants peace but is ready to defend himself in case of attack.
War and attack are two of the words Castillo doesn’t want her son to hear, and she focuses on keeping him away from this information so he doesn’t become scared.
“He doesn’t ask because you try not to show him these things so he can stay calm,” says Castillo.
The challenge is not easy for this hairdresser in an economic context where professions like hers are in difficulty.
With tight budgets, the first thing people cut is everything that is not essential, such as food and electricity and water bills. Expenses such as going to the hairdresser become a luxury, explains Castillo, who says that work is scarce and that it is difficult to meet all of her son’s needs, including Christmas traditions.
Canceled tickets
At Lourdes del Carmen Román’s Christmas table, there will be an empty chair. Like many families who were counting down the days to hug their loved ones who had left Venezuela, Román was surprised by the most devastating news.
The countdown that she had been following day after day to hug her son, who has lived in Panama for a decade, was suddenly interrupted.
“The fact that your son called and said: ‘I have tickets for that date’, and suddenly said: ‘Mom, they canceled my tickets’”, says Román, still affected by that “devastating” moment.
She lives in Barquisimeto, in the state of Lara, but decided to travel to Caracas to spend Christmas with her other daughter and leave the sadness behind.
That day, the FAA (US Federal Aviation Administration) issued a safety alert about potential risks in Venezuelan airspace due to interference and increased military activity. The alert caused a mass cancellation of flights by airlines such as Iberia, TAP, Turkish Airlines and Copa Airlines.
Román’s much-desired hug with his son turned into a knot of uncertainty, as the young man continued to desperately search for alternative ways to travel amid the air travel crisis. Some national airlines are operating international routes and have become a window of opportunity, albeit at exorbitant costs.
“It’s so sad. I had bought some little gifts for my granddaughter and everything was ready for her, and suddenly… it’s a huge disappointment. And we’re thinking, ‘Well, how long are we going to have to deal with this?’ It’s for them too, they are completely alone,” said Román, for whom the celebration had to be postponed.
As per Venezuelan tradition, she prepared hallacas, the typical Christmas dish, but admits that she doesn’t feel the same way as in previous years. She doesn’t feel the same joy.
Ten years until next Christmas together
At the Rodríguez Méndez family table, there is also an empty chair, but not because of flight cancellations. It belongs to Gabriel, grandson of Luis Méndez.
The grandfather says that, on December 16, the young man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of terrorism, incitement to hatred and obstruction of public roads. He also told the CNN who have still not managed to come to terms with the coup that cast a shadow over their lives and now also over Christmas.
Nothing feels the same in their house. In a corner, Gabriel’s cousin, nine-year-old Jimena Valentina, or “Mena,” left a letter “to Baby Jesus,” asking for just one thing: that Gabriel return home. “To have him home for Christmas,” says Grandpa.
“Gabriel is happy, calm, doesn’t spend much time on the street… a healthy boy”, repeats Méndez.
His life changed drastically on the afternoon of January 9, 2025, when National Guard motorcyclists stopped him just meters from a clinic. The reason was his clothes. “Because of how I was dressed,” says Méndez.
The young man said that, during his detention, they said he “looked like a guarimbero”, a term used by the government to describe people who participated in protests, usually dressed in black.
The grandfather says that, that day, Gabriel left home dressed in shorts and a black sweater to work in an artisanal bakery in Cabudare, in the state of Lara. He was 16 years old at the time.
It was a day of great tension, as Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration was scheduled for January 10, after controversial elections questioned by the opposition, the Carter Center, the United Nations panel of experts and part of the international community, while the National Electoral Council defended the result, but without publishing the results of the counting.
He was taken to the Barquisimeto detention center and tried in a court where, according to reports, he was not allowed to have a private lawyer. “They asked him to plead guilty, but he refused to lie,” his grandfather said.
The most difficult news coincided with another, completely opposite. The Central-West University Lisandro Alvarado had awarded him a scholarship to study Civil Engineering. “When we found out, we all cried,” remembers his grandfather. “It was his dream, and that same week, they blocked his path.”
According to Foro Penal, at least 902 people are imprisoned in Venezuela for political reasons, including several young people detained during protests or in operations without a judicial warrant. The Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Venezuela did not respond to the request for information from CNN about Gabriel’s case.
The Public Ministry claims that human rights and due process are respected, although organizations such as Provea and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights question the Venezuelan judicial system.
The Maduro government denies having political prisoners; however, several national and international human rights organizations claim otherwise and maintain a list of people who, according to them, were imprisoned for political reasons.
Meanwhile, amid the uncertainty, Christmas lights twinkle over Caracas as a reminder that even in dark times, peace becomes one of the most urgent and shared desires.
A peace that some find in economic stability and others in a change of political direction for the country.
https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/internacional/venezuelanos-vivem-com-incerteza-e-ceticismo-em-meio-a-tensoes-com-eua/
