There’s been an unwelcome development in Venezuela, and it comes in the form of colectivos on motorcycles armed with Russian-made weapons hunting down citizens who cheered the actions of the Trump administration, which led to the fall of dictator Nicolás Maduro. While Maduro awaits justice in a New York jail, his civilian foot soldiers – after having gone underground in the wake of the United States’ successful combined military and law enforcement action – have surfaced and are looking to serve up a justice of their own on anyone who welcomed Trump’s involvement and cheered Maduro’s removal.
Several different reports say colectivos descended upon the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Monday and Tuesday, causing gridlock and mayhem as they hunted down Trump supporters and looked to mete out revenge.
The masked thugs, known as Colectivos, holding Russian automatic weapons, brought rush hour traffic to a grinding halt in the Venezuelan capital, stopping drivers at checkpoints and demanding to search their phones and cars, four sources in Venezuela confirmed Monday and Tuesday.
The troubled circumstances have residents on edge over what will happen next, said the Venezuelans, who requested anonymity because of the threat of retaliation.