Lorraine Williamson
Spain reacts to Maduro’s capture with an unusually careful message: don’t escalate, stick to international law, and get back to diplomacy. But on the streets — and across Spanish politics — the reaction has been anything but uniform, with anger in some corners and open relief in others.
On Saturday, 3 January, the Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for moderation after a US operation in Venezuela that Washington says resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Spain’s position is delicate: Sánchez has stressed that Spain did not recognise Maduro’s government, but also says it will not recognise an intervention that violates international law or pushes the region towards further instability.
Sánchez underlined that point on X, arguing Venezuela’s crisis “must be resolved exclusively through peaceful means” — dialogue, negotiation, and respect for “the will of the Venezuelan people”, with no external interference and in line with international law. He also said Spain had joined Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and Mexico
In diplomatic terms, talk of “regime change” is less a moral judgement on Maduro than a description of how a leader is removed. Critics of Maduro argue he clung to power without a credible democratic mandate, and for many Venezuelans, his departure would be a liberation, not a coup. Spain’s government, however, is signalling a different concern: that a foreign military operation deciding Venezuela’s leadership risks escalation, retaliation and deeper instability — even when the target is widely condemned.
Spain urges restraint
Barcelona’s protest — and the mood on the ground
In Barcelona, demonstrators gathered to condemn the US action, framing it as interference and warning that it could deepen Venezuela’s crisis rather than resolve it. Reports from the city also describe rival mobilisations reflecting the wider Venezuelan divide — with solidarity protests on one side and celebrations on the other — though both remained largely peaceful.
The competing messages are familiar to anyone who has followed Venezuela’s long-running fracture: for some, Maduro’s removal is a turning point; for others, the method matters as much as the man.
Celebrations in Spain, too — and a split Venezuelan diaspora
Alongside protests, there have also been celebrations among Venezuelans abroad, including in Madrid, after the US announcement that Maduro had been flown out of the country. Photo coverage shows street celebrations in multiple cities outside Venezuela, underlining just how polarising this moment is — even far from Caracas.
Spain is home to tens of thousands of Venezuelans who left during years of political conflict and economic collapse. That community is not politically monolithic, and this weekend has put those differences in public view. Spain’s parties pull in opposite directions
The divisions run straight through Spanish politics. According to reporting in Spain, figures on the left of the governing coalition condemned the US strikes as a breach of the UN Charter, while opposition voices on the right framed events as a chance for a democratic transition led by Venezuela’s opposition. The result is a noisy domestic argument layered on top of a fast-moving international crisis.
What happens next
Maduro’s capture raises as many questions as it answers: who holds power in Caracas, what role the US intends to play, and how the international community responds. Spain’s official line is clearly aimed at preventing a wider spiral — but the public reaction in Spain suggests the story will not stay confined to diplomacy, especially with Venezuelan communities here living the consequences emotionally and politically.