- Title: Venezuela's students reclaim the streets after years of oppression
- Date: 14th March 2026
- Summary: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - FEBRUARY 26, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STUDENT LEADER AND UNIVERSITY COUNSELOR AT CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF VENEZUELA, PAOLA CARRILLO, WALKING THROUGH UNIVERSITY HALLWAYS VARIOUS OF STUDENTS ON HALLWAY FLOORS EATING AND RESTING CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - FEBRUARY 24, 2026) (REUTERS) PAOLA CARRILLO SITTING IN UNIVERSITY HALLWAY DURING INTERVIEW (SOUN
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Delcy Rodriguez Maduro Students U.S. United Nations Venezuela detainees repression torture university
- Location: MARACAIBO AND CARACAS, VENEZUELA
- City: MARACAIBO AND CARACAS, VENEZUELA
- Country: Venezuela
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,South America / Central America,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001392714032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:In mid-February, hundreds of students from Venezuela’s most prestigious university did the once unthinkable: their protest left the campus of the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas and spilled out into a nearby street.
Before the U.S. military operation that captured Nicolas Maduro on January 3, student activism was a risky proposition in Venezuela. Remaining on campus had historically offered some protection; student protesters who took to the streets risked being beaten, detained, or worse. Bodies like the United Nations have denounced torture against detainees in Venezuela, including electric shocks, asphyxiation and sleep deprivation.
So when the students, marching alongside relatives of some of those imprisoned by the Maduro government left campus chanting “free them all,” it was an act of defiance.
Venezuelan university students, waving flags or bloodied from clashes with security forces, were the key protagonists of massive anti-government protests a decade ago.
Those demonstrations waned amid a crackdown by security services which included arrests of students and professors and violence by ruling party-allied motorcycle gangs that killed hundreds. A deep economic crisis forced many out of classrooms and into the workforce. Smaller protests in 2019, 2024 and early 2025 were quickly extinguished.
But now a new generation is on the streets. Student activists from universities around the country told Reuters they see real hope after the ouster of Maduro - despite the endurance of the government he headed - and feel safer speaking out now than at any point in recent history.
The students, ranging in age from 22 to 27, have only ever known the socialist ‘Chavismo’ government, named for former President Hugo Chavez, in power since 1999.
“There is less fear and more hope than there was before that things can really be different now,” Paola Carrillo, 22, a member of the student union at the Central University of Venezuela told Reuters.
Carrillo, who is in her final year of a law degree and was just becoming a teenager when the last mass student protests took place, said her goal is to encourage others to join.
Neither Venezuela’s communications ministry, which handles all press requests for the government, nor the attorney general’s office responded to questions for this story.
The students said their agenda goes far beyond the release of prisoners: they want the repeal of laws against hate speech and terrorism which they say are tools of oppression, free and fair elections, and what they call “reinstitutionalization,” repairing state institutions activists say have been destroyed by the socialist party.
The students also want larger budgets for universities and salary increases for professors, who earn just $4 a month.
Miguelangel Suarez, 26, president of the student federation at the Central University of Venezuela, even confronted Interim President Delcy Rodriguez after she attended an event on campus in January, an encounter which was shared widely on Venezuelan social media.
“I told the group: ‘Look, I’m going to confront Delcy Rodriguez.’ About 20 others stood up and decided, ‘We’re going with you.’ That says a lot about how the paradigm has changed since January 3," he said.
The interaction was a rare unscripted one for Rodriguez, a 56‑year‑old lawyer and herself a Central University of Venezuela graduate, who rarely gives interviews or takes questions. Her interactions with the public are mostly at pro‑government events.
“She told us we weren’t letting her speak. On the contrary, we were — and still are — willing to engage in dialogue,” said Suarez, who is set to graduate in December with a degree in political and administrative studies.
Though the students are anti-government, many are not involved directly in opposition parties and have yet to turn their attention to eventual elections promised by the U.S.
Students across Venezuela expressed gratitude that Maduro is gone, but are wary of the United States and said they wished his ouster had been achieved through other means.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez for stabilizing the country after the removal of Maduro, as well as for her efforts to open the country to oil and mining interests.
Maduro always denied accusations he presided over a dictatorship and said he was fairly elected for his third term in 2024, an assertion rejected by the opposition and international observers, who said the candidate for an opposition coalition roundly won. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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