RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Venezuelans are once again bracing for uncertainty as President Donald Trump threatens a blockade that could cut off the country's ability to sell oil — its main source of revenue.
For many, the rhetoric revives memories of years defined by recession, hyperinflation and chronic shortages. Still, after many years of economic and political turmoil, some Venezuelans say they are coping the only way they know how: by carrying on.
At a strip mall in Caracas, residents line up to buy water. Among them is José, a 74-year-old retired surgeon holding two small gallon jugs. Like others interviewed by NPR, he asked that only his first name be used for fear of government reprisals.
José says he isn't panicking over the latest standoff between Trump and President Nicolás Maduro. He isn't stockpiling supplies, either. But he admits his family is taking small precautions.
"We are buying enough food to have a cushion for a few days — just in case," he says.
Political and economic hardship is nothing new in Venezuela, and many say they have little choice but to endure yet another escalation.
As Christmas music plays in the background at the same mall, 63-year-old Carolina stops to buy a soda. She says the prospect of further economic collapse leaves her feeling helpless
"It's a lie that the rich will pay the price," she says of tougher sanctions. "We are the ones who always pay."
Trump has tried multiple strategies to push Maduro from power, says Javier Corrales, a political scientist at Amherst College. But Corrales doubts that worsening economic conditions will lead to mass rebellion. "I don't think economic decline, as bad as things are right now, will trigger a widespread uprising," he says.
Corrales says Venezuelans are exhausted and fearful of government repression. If oil revenues dry up, he believes the Maduro government will turn even more aggressively to illicit activities such as drug trafficking and illegal gold mining to survive — and that more Venezuelans will flee the country.
Maduro denies his government is involved in criminal enterprises. In a lengthy speech to supporters Wednesday night, he accused Trump of revealing his true intentions.
"The U.S. president wants Venezuela's natural resources," Maduro said. "That will never happen."
"Never, ever," he added, declaring that Venezuela would never be a U.S. colony — remarks met with loud applause from the crowd.
Throughout the day, Venezuelan officials condemned Trump's blockade threat. They dismissed U. S. claims that Venezuela stole American land and property, calling them irrational.
At Caracas's main international airport, politics seemed distant from the thoughts of 20-year-old Mariana and her friends as they prepared to leave for a vacation on Margarita Island.
"At this point, we are used to political things happening in this country," she says. "We decided we can't stop our lives."
Mariana says she isn't especially worried about U.S. military ships operating nearby. But she adds that once her vacation is over, she plans to look for a way out of Venezuela — joining millions who have already left in search of stability elsewhere.
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