Despite Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s ouster, his regime still remains in power in some sectors of the country.
This is because of the Colectivos, pro-Maduro paramilitary groups that have been patrolling the streets “with motorbikes and assault rifles” (Kalashnikovs) to “stifle any dissent,” according to The Guardian.
The patrols have been stopping/searching cars and demanding access to people’s phones to ensure they haven’t expressed support for Maduro’s ouster by the U.S. Trump administration.
The Telegraph has confirmed that the Colectivos are operating as per “a government directive” from interior minister Diosdado Cabello, who’s been seen posing with them:
Diosdado Cabello, jefe del cártel de Los Soles, y sus soldaditos ahora sacan pecho en Caracas.
Pero por lo que sea, estuvieron bien escondidos durante la intervención militar de EEUU.
Como buenos chavistas, solo valen para reprimir a civiles desarmados.pic.twitter.com/Jj0rnplMpI
— Guaje Salvaje (@GuajeSalvaje) January 6, 2026
“Here, the unity of the revolutionary force is more than guaranteed, and here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros,” Cabello said in an audio recording shared by the PSUV Socialist Party on Sunday. “Let no one fall for the enemy’s provocations.”
The Colectivos’ presence has alarmed and frightened Venezuelans.
“The future is uncertain, the Colectivos have weapons, the Colombian guerrilla is already here in Venezuela, so we don’t know what’s going to happen, time will tell,” a Venezuelan shop owner told The Telegraph.
“There’s fear,” a Venezuelan named Mirelvis Escalona, 40, told The Guardian, adding that anyone who supports Maduro’s ouster is at risk of being arrested. “There are armed civilians here. You never know what might happen; they might attack people.”
One Venezuelan woman anonymously said she’s now afraid to leave her home, lest her phone be seized and then searched.
Those who work in the media are especially scared.
“[A] Venezuelan journalist said some fellow reporters are in hiding, for fear of their arrest — and the documented torture that happens in Caracas prisons,” the New York Post reported.
“[One] used to work in media, now they don’t for fear [of the regime],” the unnamed journalist said.
The violations of rights have triggered concerns from the nation’s national press unit.
“It is not possible to move towards a democratic transition while political persecution, censorship, arbitrary imprisonment, and the systematic violation of fundamental rights persist,” the group said in a statement. “Freedom of expression, the right of access to information, and the right to work are not concessions of political power, but fundamental human rights, enshrined in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and in the international treaties signed by the State.”
“Their sustained violation has had a direct impact on the practice of journalism, has weakened public debate, and has deprived citizens of truthful and timely information, an indispensable condition for democratic participation and citizen oversight,” they added.
Meanwhile, the nation’s government has declared a state of emergency, empowering police to “immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States,” according to Reuters.
It’s not clear if this emergency directive is the same directive linked to Cabello.
#Venezuela A lot of talk about the armed militias of Maduro called “Colectivos” …below is a short description for the English readers👇 pic.twitter.com/izDwFwdTTr
— Michael Welling (@WellingMichael) January 6, 2026
What seems clear is that the directive doesn’t appear to be linked to interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
“We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on a cooperation agenda, aimed at shared development, within the framework of international law, and to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” she said in a conciliatory statement Sunday.
What’s also known is that the Colectivos aren’t alone. There’s also a separate group called the Cupaz that was established by Maduro in 2019, reportedly to control protesters.
“There’s enough people here, there’s enough balls here to fight for this revolution, to fight for this motherland,” Cupaz member Freddy Rodriguez reportedly said on Tuesday.
InSight Crime, a non-profit think tank focused on Latin American crime, previously reported in 2023 that Cupaz is an acronym for Peace Defender Squads (Cuadrillas Defensoras de la Paz) but that the group is “anything but peaceful.”
“The Cupaz have been used to repress protests and political opposition to the PSUV with violence and intimidation, deployed as shock troops to fight criminal gangs, and have been assigned control of criminal economies that exploit local communities,” the think tank reported.
“In the process, they have emerged as the latest evolution of Venezuela’s hybrids – illegal armed groups that work at the service of or in coordination with the state. And with this evolution, the gap between the state and these armed groups has narrowed more than ever before,” the reporting continued.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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