Life in Venezuela
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After the dramatic US military operation that saw Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife taken from the country and placed in a New York prison, what, if anything, has changed for Venezuelans? We speak to Venezuelans about their experiences of living in Venezuela – the good and the bad. Vanessa tells us that even liking social media posts that appear to oppose the government could land people in jail. Donald Trump said the US would “run” Venezuela and he has plans for the country’s crude oil reserves, which are the largest in the world. Despite this relatively untapped wealth, half the population lives in poverty and there have been shortages of food, fuel, water and medical supplies. Our guests talk about the difficulty of earning money, while millions have decided to flee the country, due to economic challenges and political persecution. We also bring Venezuelans together in the US, UK and Brazil who have moved abroad. They discuss what they miss about home and what might make them return.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:08.3 | Hello, I'm James Reynolds. |
| 0:10.1 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:13.9 | In BBC OS conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences. |
| 0:18.3 | This time, we hear from Venezuelans about life in the country |
| 0:21.1 | and from those who've been forced to leave. |
| 0:25.1 | Nicholas Maduro had his chance until he didn't. |
| 0:29.1 | He effed around and he found out. |
| 0:31.3 | This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays |
| 0:35.8 | of American military might and competence in American history. |
| 0:41.5 | That's from a White House video, which was published after the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro |
| 0:46.5 | and his wife Celia Flores were seized by U.S. troops from their compound in the capital |
| 0:51.5 | Caracas. They were taken in handcuffs to New York to face |
| 0:55.8 | drug trafficking and weapons charges. The couple denies the charges. President Trump said that his |
| 1:01.7 | administration would begin to run Venezuela. But what that means in practice is far from certain. |
| 1:08.4 | For now at least, Maduro's vice president, Delci Rodriguez, has taken power. |
| 1:13.6 | We wanted then to get a sense of what life is like for Venezuelans. |
| 1:17.8 | We start inside the country. Our four guests live in Caracas. We've changed their names to protect their identities. |
| 1:24.5 | You'll hear about the risks they face in speaking to the BBC. Anna works for a US |
| 1:29.6 | company. Vanessa is a lawyer. William is a law student and Andreas is an engineer. Our conversation |
| 1:37.2 | begins with an insight into the difficulties people face every day. I asked Andreas, for example, |
| 1:43.1 | what happens when he turns on his kitchen |
... |
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