Venezuela After Maduro, a Conversation with Ligia Bolívar

Venezuela After Maduro, a conversation with Ligia Bolívar

This interview is part of the Better Preparedness Initiative’s (BPI) effort to help philanthropy gain a clearer understanding of the current situation in Venezuela and make informed decisions in a context of extreme crisis.

Following the removal of Nicolás Maduro by the US government in January 2026, the situation for Venezuelan civil society has deteriorated. Repression has intensified, the margins for action have narrowed, and earlier cuts to international cooperation have deepened an already ongoing collapse.

On January 13, BPI Director Jessica Corredor Villamil spoke with Ligia Bolívar, Executive Director of Alerta Venezuela and one of the most respected voices in Venezuelan civil society, to understand what has really changed, what the most urgent needs are today, and what philanthropy could support in this new scenario.

BPI: Many analysts have presented what happened on January 3 as a turning point. From your perspective, what really happened in Venezuela after Maduro was removed by the US government? Are we facing a regime change, a political transition, or something else?

Ligia Bolívar: I think it’s important to be clear about this. Venezuela is not facing a savior or a looter. It is facing a change in ownership.

It’s not that the “bad guy” has arrived. We had already endured many years, more than twenty-five years, during which our resources were being plundered by others. What is happening now is that Venezuela is changing owners. This is not a transition to democracy. It is a transition to the same people who already held power, overseen by an external power.

On top of that, the new owner is not interested in democracy. He is obsessed with oil because what he needs is a victory at home. He showed off his trophy, which was Maduro. Now he wants to show off a trophy with economic consequences. But he has never talked about human rights, the rule of law, or democracy.

BPI: In recent interviews, you spoke of a deepening of repression and a “witch hunt” after January 3. How is this being experienced in the country today?

Ligia Bolívar: Ordinary people are afraid. That’s the word. There is a very strong feeling of persecution, stronger than in 2024, even compared to the pre- and post-election repression.

The Colectivos [armed paramilitary groups created to be “guardians of the revolution”] immediately went out to check phones and detain people. Recently, we learned that sixteen minors between the ages of 14 and 17 who were playing outside were taken into custody. The indication is that they were celebrating, and that’s why they were taken away.

And this doesn’t just affect one side. Even people linked to the Colectivos are unhappy. They feel humiliated and betrayed. They wonder what happened to the armed forces, what happened to their “Comandante” [Commander, as Maduro is often known]. Everyone is reeling. On both sides.

At the same time, there are many people tearing their hair out over the issue of imperialism, with Trump wanting to steal Venezuelan resources. That’s true, but you also have to see things in perspective. Venezuela was already being plundered. So we’re not facing something totally different. It’s neither better nor worse than Maduro. It’s different. The problem is that different sectors come with very biased views of the situation, which makes it very difficult to draw attention to what is really happening.

That is why international organizations can make visible what is happening for Venezuelan civil society. They have a broader capacity and a different approach. The point is to increase visibility without exposing people. To say what is happening without saying who is informing it. Not to present Trump as a savior or a demon, but to explain that we are facing a new owner.

In practice, Venezuelan organizations have become “silent” publicly. Not because they stopped producing information, but because they have had to change how they work to stay safe.

BPI: You’ve also said it’s hard to describe what “people in Venezuela” are thinking right now. How would you describe the public feeling after Maduro was removed?

Ligia Bolívar: It’s not easy, because the country is fractured and divided, including within civil society. What is true is that what happened on January 3 is increasingly less celebrated. Some people were euphoric that day. I wasn’t. I anticipated it: “The day a government falls because of foreign occupation, I’ll cry”. And I cried. It’s a humiliation.

And then hours later, Trump says, “I’m the new boss”… That has made many people rethink what happened.

BPI: Some say that this moment could open the door to a democratic transition. What is your take on that?

Ligia Bolívar: In this context, no. This is not a transition to democracy. As long as there is no talk of full and unconditional freedom for political prisoners, there is no transition. So far, only a few have been released, and even that is not full freedom. The files remain open, with a ban on speaking to the media, using social media, or discussing what happened to them. We also do not know the real extent of the torture, because there is no way of knowing.

There is no return for those in exile. The institutions remain co-opted by the same people as before. There is no talk of transitional justice, let alone free elections. Furthermore, you cannot seek a democratic transition with someone who does not believe in democracy.

Honestly, I don’t see any glimmer of hope.

BPI: What is the current state of Venezuelan civil society, and where are the most pressing needs for support?

Ligia Bolívar: To understand the needs, you have to understand the current situation. What we have is a double weakening, both large and deep.

On the one hand, we were coming off systematic and permanent attacks by the regime against civil society, which peaked in August 2024 when the Ley de Fiscalizacion [Law for the Control, Regularization, Operations and Financing of Non-Governmental and Related Organizations, also called the “anti-NGO law”] was passed. From then on, practically all civil society organizations lost their legal status, and the vast majority have not been able to recover it.

On the other hand, there are the consequences of the end of international cooperation and the loss of funding for organizations, which has been ongoing for a year. These are funds that fall in cascades. Both for organizations that received federal funds directly and for those that did not, but were working with another organization that did. There were dramatic cases. In December [2024], some funding didn’t arrive, and organizations, just so their staff wouldn’t go through December without a cent to buy a small gift for their children, put in money from their own pockets, from their savings. And when January came, they were left without savings or with loans they couldn’t repay. Many organizations did that. Some even pawned what they had to pay staff in December.

These are two very heavy blows. One internal and one external. So, Organizations are closing not only because they lack legal status, but also because they have no resources.

In terms of the needs, first, we need flexibility. You can’t demand that an organization that is struggling to survive provide you with the latest notarized meeting minutes. That’s impossible. If you can’t provide notarized meeting minutes, you can’t change bylaws or bank signatures either. That doesn’t mean that people don’t want to be accountable or transparent. They want to be accountable, but there needs to be other mechanisms. We are facing an exceptional situation, and that requires exceptional measures.

Additionally, the diaspora continues. Many leaders of CSOs have already migrated, staff have already migrated, and now organizations as an entity are migrating. Organizations are being re-established in other countries to continue their work and access resources. But from the outside, what they see is, “This organization was founded only three months ago,” when in reality, these were organizations with years of work in Venezuela. All their history and trajectory, the memory of the human rights movement in Venezuela, is getting lost.

The greatest needs are in strengthening the capacities of those who are still in Venezuela. There are fewer people with fewer resources, and those who remain do not have the same expertise or training, taking on enormous responsibilities while also working as drivers for Uber or selling phones to survive.

Another area that is often neglected is mental health. Even before the elections, people were already telling me how terrified they were. But we don’t talk about it collectively. It is taboo. People are emotionally devastated. Seeing your coworker, the colleague you had coffee with last week, being taken away or simply disappearing leaves very deep scars.

At the same time, we have to continue raising awareness without exposing people. We must report what is happening without revealing who is reporting it. Many organizations are silent in public. Not because they don’t produce information, but because they have changed the way they do it. They have closed their websites and social media accounts and now work by sending targeted information directly to key individuals. That takes more time, more effort, and more operational capacity, and many simply do not have it right now. That requires resources and capabilities that they do not always have. And those of us outside the country who try to do public advocacy on their behalf also lack the resources to do it well, while our contacts inside Venezuela are often working multiple jobs to survive and have less time to engage.

BPI: To close, what impact does the current situation have at the global level?

Ligia Bolívar: The international system is not responding to the current situation. Multilateralism was already weakened, and today it is seriously damaged. Trump withdraws from treaties and institutions, and nothing happens. The OAS [Organization of American States] says that it does not become involved in bilateral issues. The United Nations remains silent. We already had a very weakened multilateralism, and now with Trump in power, no one is really in a position to repair it or put a stop to it. So one wonders: advocacy before whom?

We try anyway. Not because there are guarantees, but because there is no other choice. We strive to strengthen our capacities, work in partnership with others, and coordinate more effectively. We try to maintain the minimum muscle so that our work as civil society organizations does not disappear altogether.

But I have to be honest. People are exhausted. They are working in constant fear and without any income. They’ve been doing it for the past year, and that is not sustainable. Voluntarism has come to an end.

If you want to stay engaged on these issues and support efforts to address the impacts of the current US policy context on Venezuela and global civil society, there are ways to do so beyond reading this interview.

On Wednesday, January 21, the Better Preparedness Initiative (BPI) is convening a call for the BPI Community focused on emerging needs and priorities following recent developments. It’s part of a broader stream of work aimed at addressing the global impacts of the current US policy shifts.

If you’d like to join that call or learn more about the direction of this work, email BPinfo@hrfn.org or sign up for updates through the Better Preparedness Community of Practice.

BPI is hosted by Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN), in partnership with Peace and Security Funders Group (PSFG).