'At least we have hope now,' says a Venezuelan teacher on the Colombian border to his homeland, which he fled nearly ten years ago.

'It is not clear what will happen, but at least it might be better. Before this raid, it was just hopeless.'

Donald Trump's extraordinary early hours special forces raid to capture Nicolas Maduro did not just catch the Venezuelan dictator unawares.

Those he has ruled with an iron fist since 2013 are struggling to make sense of the new reality – stunned Maduro is gone, but also cautious that his cronies remain.

'When I first heard, I just wanted to watch TV until I saw a picture of that f***** looking weak and afraid,' the teacher, in his 30s, said in the Colombian border town of Cucata, where he lives with his fiancee. 'But then when Trump said that Maduro's deputy will take over, and he was talking about America taking over the oil, now it is a more confusing picture.'

While the refugees can watch on with cautious optimism, across the border in Caracas a sense of fear pervades. Relatives of political prisoners in the notorious Helicoide jail worry their loved ones may be killed or attacked to stifle any celebrations.

Meanwhile, most residents are still too afraid to talk openly while Maduro's deputies remain in power.

'They still see us and I don't know what they might do to me,' was a common refrain when the Daily Mail approached locals. 'They control everything,' others would warn in hushed tones.

A housewife, who agreed to be interviewed anonymously, said she disagreed with what had happened and suggested the consequences were still unknown. She added: 'This is not the solution, it was not the way to do it, but rather through negotiation.'

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was taken into custody by US law enforcement officials on Saturday 

US President Donald Trump watched from Washington on as Maduro's capture unfolded

Shoppers line up to buy eggs in Caracas in Venezuela as fears of food shortages spread

Captured Venezuelan leader Maduro said 'happy new year' as he is led to US jail

For her, behind all this lies international interests in Venezuelan oil, not Venezuela's own interests. Indeed, it appears to many of those here that Mr Trump has struck a deal with Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's deputy who has become interim leader.

So long as she opens Venezuela's vast oil reserves to the US, it seems, she can remain in power – while the opposition that overwhelmingly won stolen elections last year is sidelined.

Adding to the foreboding, there is a striking absence of military and police presence in Caracas.

Huge queues have broken out at supermarkets as locals worry about supply shortages. Public transport has also ground to a standstill, with many petrol stations remaining closed.