Venezuelan security forces detain foreign news agency journalists

At least 14 members of the press were detained in Venezuela on Monday as they reported on the aftermath of the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces.

The union representing Venezuelan media workers said all but one of the detainees, who were employed by foreign news organizations, were released late Monday and one journalist was deported.

Foreign news media have long faced restrictions in Venezuela, with few obtaining visas to work in the country.

Their detention came as Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president, shortly after expressing her willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration, which said it would “manage” Venezuela.

The union said the media workers were detained by Venezuelan security forces in and around the National Assembly in the capital, Caracas, and near Altamira.

At least two of them were held by agents of Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency, while others were detained by Venezuelan intelligence services.

They said their devices were searched, mobile phones checked and social media posts and messages read, the union statement added.

A Colombian journalist and a Spanish journalist were also detained at the Venezuela-Colombia border near Cucuta.

The two journalists were held incommunicado for several hours before being released back to Colombia, the statement said.

The union called the incidents “shocking” and called for the release of 23 media workers still detained in the country.

The repression is not limited to media workers.

“There are masked men with guns patrolling, checking people’s WhatsApp status,” a community leader in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas told BBC Mundo.

Jose, a 60-year-old Caracas resident, said people could not speak freely about what was going on, with heavy police and military presence on the streets, as well as masked pro-Maduro armed group “colectivos”.

A 33-year-old masseuse, who asked not to be named, said there was “a lot of fear in the streets and at home”.

Members of the government seemed keen to show that security forces were a constant presence in communities, with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello posting a photo of himself posing with armed police on Monday night.

Their presence frightens critics of the government.

One woman described the presence of “military and pro-government armed civilian groups on every corner, instilling fear in the population”.

Another person, who requested anonymity, told the BBC that “the regime does not allow news to come out from here.” They added that there were “uniformed officers on the street stopping people and checking their phones.”

The journalists’ detention comes at a turbulent time in Venezuela, days after leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured by U.S. forces in a predawn raid that killed dozens of Maduro’s bodyguards and security personnel.

While the seizure sparked celebrations among Venezuelans who opposed Maduro and left the country, there were no public expressions of joy in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s opposition has long decried the crackdown they face if they speak out against Maduro’s government.

More than 2,000 people were arrested during protests following the 2024 presidential election.

The government-led electoral commission declared Maduro the winner of that election, but vote tallies collected by the opposition and verified by independent media showed the opposition candidate won.

In the post-election crackdown, members of the security forces checked people’s phones for messages critical of Maduro, prompting many Venezuelans to delete their social media accounts and message histories.

Many of those arrested at the time were sentenced to long prison terms after being convicted of “treason.”

As of January 5, more than 800 political prisoners were being held in Venezuela, according to the pressure group Foro Penal.