Calm holds in Caracas

A TENSE calm appeared to be holding in Venezuela yesterday, one day after the country’s President Nicolas Maduro was deposed and captured in a United States military operation.

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Venezuela's capital, Caracas, was unusually quiet, with few vehicles moving around. Convenience shops, fuel stations and other businesses were mostly closed. A day earlier, queues had wound through shops and outside petrol stations as uncertain citizens stocked up on goods in case turmoil broke out. Venezuela’s presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military.

Outside the capital, in La Guira state, families with houses damaged in blasts during the operation that captured Maduro and his wife were still cleaning up debris. Some buildings were left with walls gaping open.