With the smell of gunpowder still in the air in Caracas, Venezuela is trying to recover from the terrible events of Saturday, January 3rd.

That night, the roar of American aircraft over the Caracas valley and the impact of projectiles on several points in the capital, during their operation to extract President Nicolás Maduro, disrupted the sleep of citizens and subsequently halted all economic, social, and sporting activity in the country.

VENEZUELA’S FAVOURITE SPORT Baseball came to a standstill. Venezuela’s favourite sport had begun the playoff phase of the professional championship on Friday, with 5 of the 8 teams in the league competing for a place in the final. The political crisis unleashed after the attacks, along with uncertainty regarding security and logistics, led the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League to indefinitely suspend the tournament. In the 80-year history of this competition, the championship had only failed to conclude once before.

In the streets of Caracas and the rest of the country, citizens, stunned by the bombings, silently rushed to stock up on water and food, awaiting further developments. Supporters of the ruling party gathered near Miraflores Palace to express their repudiation of the aggression.

COURT ORDER The political power vacuum was resolved that same Saturday, with an interpretation of the Venezuelan Constitution by the Supreme Court of Justice. The court ordered the appointment of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as acting president and the continuation of the government’s administrative functions, which was confirmed on Monday by the National Assembly after the installation of the new legislative body. Normalizing the country was the order of the day.

RESUMPTION OF BASEBALL LEAGUE Alongside the political events, this Monday the baseball league announced the resumption of its tournament starting this Wednesday, January 7th. The schedule underwent minor modifications, and Caracas will once again have baseball on Thursday, January 15th, with the game between the Navegantes del Magallanes, one of the country’s most popular teams, and the Águilas del Zulia. The games will be played at the modern Simón Bolívar Monumental Stadium in Caracas, which has a capacity for 40,000 spectators and is located less than 7 kilometers from Fuerte Tiuna, the main target of Saturday’s military operation.

There will also be action in Maracaibo, Barquisimeto, Valencia, Puerto La Cruz, and Isla Margarita, partly thanks to national airlines resuming their flights on Sunday and the government guaranteeing security on the country’s highways for the transportation of the teams.

MASS OF SPORT This Tuesday, January 6th, Venezuela celebrates the Mass of Sport, an ecclesiastical ceremony held in various capitals of the country that has become a tradition as a symbolic starting point for the country’s sports calendar.

CYCLING The Vuelta al Táchira cycling race is also confirmed to take place between January 9th and 18th. The Andean Tour, as it is also known, is part of the official calendar of the International Cycling Union, and this year celebrates its 61st edition.  Its ten stages will cover the challenging and steep routes of the Mérida and Táchira states, the latter bordering Colombia.

HORSE RACING The reopening of horse racing activities at the La Rinconada Racetrack in Caracas, just meters from the baseball stadium, is confirmed for January 18th. Horse racing is the only sport whose calendar runs for all twelve months of the year, and although its popularity has declined in the last decade, it enjoys a long tradition and following, along with baseball.

FOOTBALL Although there is still no official calendar, the opening tournament of the Venezuelan professional football league, Liga Futve, is expected to begin in the last week of January; while basketball has its season scheduled to start in March.

If everything goes normally, of course.

DENOUNCEMENT Yesterday, Monday, January 5th, the government published a Decree of External Commotion, as a consequence of what it denounces as aggression by the United States against Venezuela and what it describes as the kidnapping of the country’s President. The legal decree grants special powers to the government and extends the authority of the security forces, which immediately began investigations, searches, and arrests of any citizen who facilitated or contributed to Saturday’s military attacks. With an increased security presence on the streets of Caracas and throughout the country, and with improvised police and military checkpoints on every avenue, it will be difficult to create the desired sense of normalcy.

UNCERTAINTY REIGNS Despite the institutions’ resolve to maintain constitutional order, uncertainty reigns, and doubts about the country’s stability in the immediate future are growing. Before the cameras, the government appears solid and in control. On Monday night, a confusing incident near the Presidential Palace involved an exchange of gunfire and the movement of armed individuals, which has not been officially explained.

Ordinary citizens watch the events unfold. After attending to their most urgent matters, they retreat to the privacy of their homes, seeking solace with their closest and most trusted loved ones. With them, they try to understand the events unfolding in Venezuela from within, as only can be done by those who truly understand the suffering and joy.

On Wednesday, the call of “play ball” will be heard again, as the Venezuelan baseball league continues its quest to crown the next champion.

After all, as a song by the traditional Venezuelan ska band Desorden Público goes, “everything is very normal.”

“Stop the paranoia, friends

calm down once and for all

everything is so, so calm

everything is very normal”
 

– Desorden Público