Nancy Updike

A lot of Venezuelans were expecting some kind of big move.

The U.S.

had been bombing Venezuelan boats for months.

American aircraft carriers and destroyers had been assembling in the Caribbean.

It was clear something was about to happen.

The woman I talked to, Teresa, had also been expecting.

She didn't know what.

When the attack happened, she was at home in her neighborhood just outside the capital, Caracas, with her family, including her two grown children.

Teresa is not her real name.

It's still too dangerous in the country for anyone who organized against Maduro.

The attack started in the middle of the night, her time.

And when you went upstairs, what did you say to your kids and what did they say?

So when your daughter saw President Trump's tweet or announcement that Maduro and his wife had been taken out of the country, what was your reaction to that?

That feeling of satisfaction changed over the next day or so, after President Trump, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, and others held a press conference.

The United States would run Venezuela, Trump said.

He barely mentioned Teresa's political hero, opposition leader Maria Karina Machado.

Trump dismissed Machado as, quote, a very nice woman.

The person Trump did talk about as the new leader of Venezuela was the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez.

Trump said she would be in charge.

Delcy Rodriguez is a devoted member of Maduro's team.