Venezuela and the Fall of a Dictatorship (Venezuela y la Caída de una Dictadura)

On January 3, 2026, Venezuela's dictator, Nicolás Maduro, was removed from power. Plenty of us already know this headline, and many are already aware of how this looked from the outside - Donald Trump's government prepared the attack meticulously before executing, and Maduro ended up in chains, headed to New York aboard the USS Iwo Jima.

However, very few have wondered what it felt like for Venezuelans - who, either inside or outside the country, had to deal with the information blackout and the uncertainty that followed... Would this mean the liberation of their country, or would vengeance from Maduro's allies soon follow?

In this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we explore both the events leading up to and the aftermath of Maduro's removal from a Venezuelan point of view and attempt to understand how people in the crisis-stricken feel today about this sudden and violent change in their daily lives. Enjoy!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/5231