Caracas is an amazing city. It can shock you in many ways. It has amazing buildings, historic sites and countless natural attractions.
To the casual eye, everything is normal here. Except perhaps by the significant military presence in some parts of the city, especially around government buildings and institutions.
For almost a year, we had not had any incidents, but yesterday we experienced first hand the fear of an authoritarian State. I may not be able to take pictures around anymore (at least for a while).
My wife and I were just walking across one of the most important squares while our daughter attended classes. We took some pictures and selfies and then crossed a street to check some ítems in a store.
We were so happy and relaxed. Everything suggested that it would be a great day. Suddenly, everything changed. When we were leaving the store, we were stopped by two national guards. They had been waiting for us, one on each side of the doors.
Given our country's recent history of arbitrary arrests, of people of all walks of life, time stopped for a second. Every possible terrible scenario passed through our minds in a fraction of a second. What they were doing was illegal and unjustified, but was it a good idea to demand our rights knowing what they have done to people of import, let alone to nobodies?
Under the excuse that intelligence reports had informed them that we had taken pictures to some important government official, they demanded that I handed in my identity card. The excuse was all bullshit. There was no one important around, just regular people, workers and, now we know, spies.
I did as they asked. One of the guards took a pictures of my ID and let us go. Any Venezuelan these days knows the kind of terror this kind of incident causes. You never know what they can do, regardless of who you are. They do not need to prove anything to anyone, just to set precedents, intimidate, and show people that there are eyes everywhere, that no one is safe or exempted.
We do not feel like going out ever again, but we know that eventually we have to. Life must go on. However, life here will never be the same from now on and neither will my blog.
Like us now, thousands of Venezuelans have had to delete most pictures they take, close any social media account and think twice about what they say, write or the places they visit and how. This is the kind of normality we live now. A fear-induced peace and quiet.