Henrique Capriles, Venezuela
Via AFP
For more than a decade, Nicolás Maduro's government confronted a steady stream of opposition figures trying to dismantle the regime and return Venezuela to democratic rule.
Today, the face of the opposition is Maria Corina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who won the opposition's primary elections by a landslide and was later barred by Venezuela's Supreme Court from running against Maduro in the 2024 presidential elections.
But before Machado, there were other figures who tried to challenge Maduro and were ultimately pushed out by the regime.
One of those challengers was Henrique Capriles, a politician and lawyer who served as governor of Venezuela's Miranda state from 2008 to 2017 and ran against Maduro in the 2013 presidential election, just months after also running against Hugo Chávez, who won that election but died just a few weeks later.
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Capriles is currently a member of the National Assembly and was banned for 15 years from holding public office by the Chavista-controlled government in 2017, though that ban was lifted last year. In an exclusive interview with BBC World, Capriles spoke about how he experienced the night of Jan. 3, the day the United States attacked Caracas with the goal of capturing Maduro, and about what lies ahead for Venezuela during this transition period.
Speaking about the Jan. 3 military operation, Capriles said the day will live in the minds of Venezuelans for the rest of their lives.
"I think no one expected it. There were days when there was more talk about the possibility of a ground intervention by the U.S. government, but I believe no one expected that intervention by the U.S. military, that they would enter the country and even less that they would take Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores," Capriles said.
Capriles said some people believed the explosions were the result of an internal military confrontation, but deep down he knew the real reason.
"When I heard it and the way it happened, I told my wife, 'This is a U.S. intervention,'" Capriles said. "It was a bewildering episode. My children, obviously, were crying."
The former presidential candidate argued that if Venezuelans were not living in fear, many people would have taken to the streets to celebrate Maduro's capture.
"The message from the Venezuelan regime has been to portray itself as a victim and appeal to international law," Capriles said, calling that stance hypocritical given the government's own record.
"The Venezuelan regime comes out playing the role of the victim. How many times did it trample domestic law?" he said. "That Maduro can appoint his own lawyers and choose his own defense in the trial he is facing in the United States is a right he denied to hundreds of Venezuelans."
"He denied them lawyers to defend themselves against charges the Venezuelan regime imposed on them overnight," Capriles added. "How many people imprisoned, how many open cases, how much persecution, how much harassment?"
Capriles said that despite Maduro no longer being in power, Venezuela remains far from where a democracy should be, arguing that the country is not even in a true transition period.
"There was a change in who holds power. Maduro is gone, and he was not a constitutional president, he was a de facto president. Delcy Rodríguez is the vice president appointed by a de facto government," Capriles said.
The former presidential candidate said that for Venezuela to be considered in a transition, the de facto government must show clear signs it intends to institutionalize itself and move toward democracy. In his view, the country has not reached that stage.
"The release of prisoners is an important step, but it is insufficient, because first there must be the release of all political prisoners," Capriles said.
"They were jailed for participating in elections, for defending popular sovereignty. We are also talking about freedom of the press and freedom of expression, which are guaranteed by Venezuela's Constitution. When we begin to see changes in those areas, then we can start talking about a transition."
Capriles added that restoring Venezuelan families' income is also essential before achieving what he said Venezuelans ultimately want: the recovery of democracy but one that is lasting and stable.
"That's what I think is missing," he said.
When asked how Venezuela reached this point, Capriles was blunt in his response to BBC World. He said the country's current conditions exist because the government "always believed it could get away with it" and abandoned any real effort to make democracy function.
"Rather than staying stuck on diagnosis and analysis, I would focus on what comes next," Capriles said. "Is there an improvement ahead for the country? Is it possible for Venezuelans who are abroad to return to a country with opportunities?"
For Capriles, one of the biggest questions following Maduro's capture is the economy.
"The U.S. government talks about billions of dollars in investment. Where is that money going? What will that income mean for Venezuelans?" he asked. "I want a Venezuela for Venezuelans, just as people talk about an America for Americans."
He said oil revenue, if managed properly and without corruption, could allow people to finally feel hope after years of suffering.
"People could start to say, 'We've suffered for years, but there is hope, there is light. Light is coming for the country,'" Capriles said. "And for that light to be permanent, it cannot depend on U.S. politics."
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Tags: Venezuela, United States, Nicolas Maduro, Hugo chavez, Latin America