Maduro is gone, but his regime is intact. The circumstances tell a story | Alejandro Velasco

"As late as Saturday afternoon, fires continued to smolder in parts of Caracas. Residents throughout the city, stunned and anxious, filled grocery stores and gas stations, stocking up before a future unknown. Everywhere the question hung in the air like the smoke still clouding Venezuela's capital: what next? After months of military buildup, deadly strikes at sea and a looming ground war, the United States made good on its threats to attack Venezuela in a dramatic overnight raid"

"Yet 48 hours later, little else appeared different in Caracas: Maduro's inner circle remained in place; state institutions remained in their control; streets were calm, if tense, while authorities called on people to return to their daily lives. In other words: move along, nothing to see here. If this is regime change, it seems a strange sort, one that leaves the regime otherwise intact, and which raises a more pressing question than what comes next: what happened?"

Fires smoldered in Caracas as residents stocked up on food and fuel amid uncertainty. A US raid, following months of buildup and strikes, resulted in Nicolas Maduro's capture and removal to a New York jail cell. Despite Maduro's absence, his inner circle and state institutions remained in control and streets stayed calm, with authorities urging normalcy. The absence of organized resistance and long-duration air operations suggest prior knowledge or coordination. Available information indicates Maduro's close allies, after a decade of cohesion, may have negotiated with the US to keep their positions in exchange for his removal.

Read at www.theguardian.com