Following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. military forces over the weekend, nationals of the South American country have expressed mixed feelings of fear, joy and incertitude about what is to come for their long-beleaguered homeland.
Notable artists from Venezuela and its diaspora have chimed in on the ongoing situation to share messages of hope and concern.
On Wednesday morning, singer Danny Ocean aired out his feelings in an X post.
“My faith is very strong and nobody or nothing is going to bring it down. Let them talk, let them debate, the real plan comes from the universe,” he wrote in Spanish.
“And you know what’s the most exciting thing? It was a woman who revealed and exposed the truth to the world and the heavens. She knew we couldn’t fight with stones against bullets, but a bullet against the truth stands no chance. From that moment, our hearts immediately felt that this time everything was different.”
The woman Ocean is likely referring to is Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado, who previously led the opposition party to the administrations of Hugo Chávez and Maduro. In December, Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
According to the Nobel Foundation,the exiled public servant was awarded for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Machado personally invited Ocean to perform at the award ceremony and the “Me Rehúso” singer gladly obliged, performing the Venezuelan anthems “Alma Llanera” and “Venezuela.”
“[W]hen we take away excuses from God and show Him we’ve done everything we could on our part, He knows it’s His turn,” Ocean continued in his Wednesday social media post. “Just like life itself. One step at a time!”
Experimental pop artist Arca sent a message to her home country in an Instagram post on Monday, opting for a general call for unity and love in the face of incertitude.
“Faith in light of change always overcomes fear / let us think about unity and transcending the cycle — let’s aim for something different,” the Caracas-born musician wrote.
“Let’s follow our intuition and love until the end. Let’s look for a more profound understanding of how to coexist with intentionality and compassion in the face of suffering, with care in order to open our minds and hearts to something better. And to soften our expression — with tenderness even in the face of the fear of the unknown.”
Argentina-born and Venezuela-raised singer Ricardo Montaner offered up a prayer for his adopted country in an Instagram story immediately after Maduro was captured.
“Lord, protect and bless the country of Venezuela,” the “Tan Enamorados” artist wrote. “Take away the evil ones and allow peace to reign and may your love and mercy direct the future of all those who love you. Amen amen.”
In a similar vein, singer Elena Rose shared two prayers in consecutive Instagram stories. First, she posted a prayer of protection to St. Michael the Archangel and then she shared Psalm 21, which speaks of divine safety and sanctuary.
On Wednesday, the Venezuelan songstress addressed the wave of feelings she’s encountered in the days since last weekend’s events.
“These past days have been ones with a lot of emotions, and the way that I’ve maintained calm has been by being active to all the things around me,” she said in an Instagram story, adding that she feels traumatized by all that’s happened. “The new year has begun, I’m working. … I’m celebrating whatever there is to celebrate.”
Venezuelan singer-songwriter Carlos Baute shared a message of hope over the weekend with his fellow countrypeople in an Instagram post.
“Every profound change hurts. We know that difficult days are ahead, but after the storm there is always calmness,” the “Colgando en Tus Manos” artist wrote. “To everyone inside — family, friends, our people — we are praying for you and supporting you from afar in every way possible. … Venezuela has begun its journey toward freedom.”
The fate of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, remains unclear as the two face federal drug trafficking charges in New York. The pair pleaded not guilty to all charges on Monday in a Manhattan courtroom.
Meanwhile, President Trump said in a press conference that the U.S. was “going to run the country” until a transition of power in Venezuela takes place. He notably mentioned that he felt Machado doesn’t have the “respect” necessary to run her homeland.
Trump also called for American oil companies to have a large role in the intervention process.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” he said.
Trump provided few details on how he would implement some of the strategies he talked of, but said his administration was “not afraid of boots on the ground.”
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