Did the U.S. attack? Maduro flee? No, but in Venezuela, rampant rumors fly

CARACAS, Venezuela — Even in Venezuela, a country plagued by years of economic, social and political turmoil, the Christmas season is a time to put your problems aside, spend time with family, and enjoy the holiday spirit – if you can avoid the ever-present uncertainty and rumors that mark life here.

One day, social media will be full of reports that President Nicolas Maduro has fled to Brazil. Or to Turkey. Or that he stopped in Turkey on his way to Qatar. Or that the US invasion has begun. None of this is true (yet).

Social media feeds the rumor mill daily, in part because access to independent news is severely limited.

“You hear so much on social media, but learn so little,” said Begoña Monasterio, 78, who was in Caracas shopping for ingredients to make las hallacas, the country’s emblematic Christmas dish. It's a succulent mixture of cornmeal, meat, olives, raisins and other delicacies, cooked and wrapped in banana leaves, sort of like a Venezuelan tamale.

“I want to surprise my eldest son, whose birthday is on the holiday,” said the grandmother.

She took with her a small shopping bag and vowed to buy “the bare minimum,” which is now the custom in the once-wealthy South American country, which has endured a decade of hyperinflation, plunging wages, lost savings, mass displacement and migration – the equivalent of multiple Great Depressions.

But rumors of war and peace, and all sorts of other events, from the trivial to the important, are never far away, even as shoppers make their way through storefronts and well-lit malls filled with holiday foods, much of it beyond most family budgets.

Many of the current clouds of chatter hover over Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition activist and laureate Nobel Peace Prize. She lives “in hiding” in the capital, although the omnipresent government security apparatus is likely to closely monitor her movements.

After days of conflicting reports about her whereabouts, Machado appeared in Oslo the day after the Nobel Prize ceremony, reportedly after a secret U.S.-assisted journey by land, sea and private plane. Thousands of enthusiastic supporters greeted her in the Norwegian capital, a publicity stunt for the opposition and another round of bad optics for Maduro's embattled administration.

Although Machado did make it to Norway, the Venezuelan rumor mill was still circulating theories about her arrival.

“One day we heard that Maria Corina left the country in the fuselage of a plane with migrants, and that as soon as she left gringo “It will arrive,” Monasterio said, “Then we learn that Maduro has fled to Brazil. Indeed, nothing turned out to be true. So I try to continue living my life, enjoying my little one. joy [joys] while I can.”

This is a wise survival strategy in a country where no one knows what will happen next. Will Maduro negotiate a deal to remain in power with President Trump? Will US forces already concentrated off the coast of Venezuela attack? Or will the tense status quo simply drag on?

“You don't know who to believe,” said Sebastian Lopez, 33, a civil servant taking part in a pro-government political rally in the city center, one of a series organized these days by the ruling Socialist party. “Many rumors come from outside the country, from Venezuelans who have left and can write whatever they want on the Internet… Yes, it's true, Maria Corina has left. But she will come back again.”

There are rumors that high-ranking chavistas – ardent government supporters named after the late ex-President Hugo Chavez, Maduro's mentor – are sending their families abroad in anticipation of a US strike. But there have been no reports of high-level defections, a stark contrast to 2019, when Trump, during his “maximum pressure” campaign against Venezuela in his first term, also tried to oust Maduro.

Another rumor is that Washington and its allies will somehow officially recognize the opposition tandem of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado as the legitimate leaders of Venezuela.

Gonzalez, a veteran diplomat living in exile in Spain, ran as Machado's presidential candidate in last year's national elections. Maduro claimed victory in a vote that many called fraudulent.

It is unclear whether such a move by Washington would make any difference at all. During his first term, Trump pursued a similar strategy, declaring Juan Guaidó, then an opposition lawmaker, the U.S. recognized president of Venezuela, providing diplomatic support and funding for a shadow government. The gambit failed. Guaidó has since joined a large community of Venezuelan exiles in Miami.

News this week that US troops had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela only added to the prevailing climate of unease. Maduro's government condemned the hijacking as an act of international piracy. There are now many concerns about a possible US blockade, which could lead to strangulation oil exportVenezuela's economic lifeline and deepening hardships for civilians.

“I've heard all the rumors – that the invasion will happen before Christmas, that Maduro is negotiating his departure to Doha, to Cuba, to Russia – but I don't pay attention,” said Carmen Luisa Jimenez, a Maduro supporter in the capital's working-class district of Artigas. “We know that president will never leave, that he will remain with us. … We are a peace-loving nation, but we are ready to resist any attack from the United States.”

Sonia Bravo, 40, who sells Christmas trinkets from a makeshift stand, has also heard that zero hour is imminent. She has no idea. The bigger concern, she said, is falling sales and struggling to feed her family.

“People can’t afford to buy a lot,” Bravo said. “Everything seems possible now. But we all hope for the following: anything will happen to end this nightmare.”

In the meantime, Venezuelans will continue to stock up on ingredients for las hallacas, a complex dish that can take days to prepare. There is no doubt that this delicacy will be a welcome presence in homes this Christmas, creating a sense of continuity missing from many other aspects of modern life in Venezuela.

Special correspondent Mogollon reported from Caracas and Times staff writer McDonnell from Mexico City.