Venezuelan Motorcycle Militias Launch Door-to-Door Hunt for Trump Supporters

In an ominous sign of alleged narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro’s enduring influence in Venezuela, reports have surfaced that his sympathizers are cracking down on anyone who may have supported Maduro’s removal.

And few reports of the dangerous situation in Venezuela are more ominous than this one from The Telegraph.

The U.K.-based outlet reported Tuesday that remnants of the now-headless dictatorship are going door-to-door in Venezuela, demanding to see phones and other records that may suggest even the smallest hint of support for what President Donald Trump’s administration pulled off early Saturday.

While reports surfaced earlier this week that Maduro’s regime had initiated a manhunt to track down any Trump supporters, The Telegraph added a new — and scary — wrinkle to the story.

According to The Telegraph, that crackdown has taken on an openly menacing form. Armed groups loyal to the former regime have reportedly set up ad hoc checkpoints, stopping motorists at random and demanding access to their phones and personal belongings.

Witnesses described masked men carrying Kalashnikov-style rifles halting cars and combing through messages, photos, and social media activity, searching for any indication of sympathy toward the U.S.-led operation that removed Maduro.

These armed units are believed to be members of the Colectivos, pro-Maduro militias that have long operated as an unofficial enforcement arm of the regime.

Following directives to root out perceived Trump supporters, the groups reportedly flooded the streets within days of Maduro’s sudden removal, asserting control through fear and force.

In the wake of the regime’s abrupt decapitation, many Venezuelans are now bracing for what comes next.

With gunmen in civilian clothes roaming neighborhoods and manning checkpoints, the country has been plunged into a familiar state of uncertainty, with threats of violent retribution from those determined to keep Maduro’s legacy alive.

“The future is uncertain, the Colectivos have weapons, the Colombian guerrilla is already here in Venezuela, so we don’t know what’s going to happen, time will tell,” one concerned Venezuelan shop owner told The Telegraph.

A Venezuelan woman — speaking on the condition of anonymity — told The Telegraph that she’s afraid to leave her house with her phone, in the event that it’s searched for anti-Maduro texts or photographs.

The U.K. outlet noted that these searches could lead to imprisonment.

The report also indicated that the paramilitary crackdown has already swept up members of the press.

At least 14 journalists and media workers have been detained, including 11 affiliated with foreign news organizations. Some were eventually released, while the whereabouts of others remain unclear, raising fresh concerns about press freedom in the post-Maduro chaos.

The growing visibility of the Colectivos — armed civilian militias long used as an unofficial tool of state repression — underscores how aggressively Maduro loyalists are trying to reassert control.

Often traveling in packs on motorcycles and carrying military-style weapons, the groups have become a familiar symbol of intimidation for Venezuelans who have lived under the regime’s shadow.

The Telegraph also noted that social media videos circulating in recent days show armed men issuing belligerent warnings, vowing to block Trump and what they called U.S. “pigs” from entering the country or exploiting its natural resources.

Additional video shows Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello — widely regarded as one of Maduro’s closest allies — standing alongside members of the militia as they chanted, “Always loyal, never traitors.”

Cabello, who carries a $50 million U.S. bounty over alleged drug trafficking ties, is believed to wield significant influence over the Colectivos, reinforcing fears that the remnants of the old power structure are far from finished.

Maduro, meanwhile, is being held in New York, and pleaded not guilty to the charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

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