After Delta Force swooped into Caracas on Jan. 3 and captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, there was widespread anticipation that the country would return to democracy. Better times were thought on the near horizon after more than a decade in which the economy shrank by three-quarters and about a quarter of the population migrated due to political persecution and poverty. The Venezuelan opposition, which had been jailed and exiled for the last quarter-century, was suddenly provided a gift from the American president. Maria Corina Machado, who saw her party’s 2024 presidential election victory thrown out by Maduro, started making plans to return home.

Six months after Maduro’s ouster, none of the above has come to pass.