<p>Plain-clothes gunmen deployed by Venezuela&#8217;s leaders are walking the streets and stopping vehicles as they crack down on dissent and pro-American sentiment in the wake of the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces.</p>
<p>The paramilitary members, known as Colectivos, were out in full force on Tuesday as the pro-Maduro regime seeks to maintain control of the country following the surprise U.S. strikes over the weekend, The Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/07/caracas-venezuela-paramilitary-groups">reported</a>. Men armed with rifles set up checkpoints in the capital city of Caracas, where they stopped drivers to search their vehicles, phones, and personal belongings, looking for any evidence of support for the United States capturing Maduro, according to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/01/06/venezuela-police-door-to-door-maduro-arrest/">The Telegraph</a>.</p>
<p>Police, meanwhile, were <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/01/06/world-news/pro-maduro-motorcycle-gang-colectivos-hunting-for-trump-supporters-in-caracas/">instructed</a> to &#8220;immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States.&#8221;</p>
<p>One Caracas resident, Mirelvis Escalona, told The Guardian that anyone who is suspected of supporting the United States could be arrested. The Colectivos are reportedly targeting neighborhoods known to be home to those who support the opposition to Venezuela&#8217;s current government.</p>
<p>“There’s fear. There are armed civilians here,&#8221; said Escalona. &#8220;You never know what might happen, they might attack people.”</p>
<p>On Monday, 14 journalists, mostly foreign correspondents, were detained by Venezuelan authorities in Caracas before all of them except one were later released. Two people in western Venezuela were arrested after they celebrated the capture of Maduro, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/venezuela/live-blog/live-updates-trump-venezuela-maduro-rodriguez-attack-greenland-ukraine-rcna252515/rcrd95678?canonicalCard=true">reported</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;The suspects were shouting slogans against the government, celebrating the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, offending PSUV militants in the neighborhood, and inciting violence, in addition to firing shots,&#8221; according to police. Pro-Maduro Venezuelans, meanwhile, marched on the streets of Caracas on Tuesday in support of their captured leader and his wife.</p>
<p>The large-scale crackdown on anti-Maduro sentiment comes as President Donald Trump urges the Venezuelan government to cooperate with the United States.</p>
<p>&#8220;If they don’t behave, we will do a second strike,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/05/trump-more-us-troops-venezuela-00712023">said</a> on Sunday.</p>
<p>After Maduro&#8217;s capture, Trump said that the United States would assume control of Venezuela until a transition could safely take place. Venezuela is now led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro&#8217;s vice president and also worked under Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez. Trump said that Rodríguez would “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro&#8221; if she refuses to cooperate with America&#8217;s demands. Since taking over, Rodríguez has condemned the U.S. operation to capture Maduro and has claimed that Maduro remains the rightful leader of Venezuela.</p>
<p>While the Trump administration says it&#8217;s prepared to apply pressure on Rodríguez, the pro-Maduro regime appears unlikely to give up power anytime soon.</p>
<p>María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and most recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/nobel-peace-prize-recipient-machado-pledges-return-venezuela-sees-alarming-internal-crackdown">told</a> Fox News that Rodríguez represents the same threat to Venezuelans as Maduro.</p>
<p>&#8220;Delcy Rodriguez, as you know, is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco trafficking,&#8221; Machado said. &#8220;She’s the main ally and liaison with Russia, China, Iran, certainly not an individual that could be trusted by international investors. And she’s really rejected, repudiated by the Venezuelan people.&#8221;</p>

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Pro-Maduro Militias Crack Down On Dissent, Search For Supporters Of U.S. Raid