Maduro is gone. What’s next for Venezuela?

plea for peace was especially rich given his history as an M-19 terrorist.Millions of Venezuelan expat communities around the world erupted in celebration. For the first time in a quarter-century of authoritarian chavismo, a return to democracy and pluralism is possible. Venezuelans want to go home.But the job isn’t finished.

Mr. Trump acknowledged as much on Saturday at a Mar-a-Lago press conference: The U.S., he said, “is going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” That wasn’t expected, and how it will work is for now a mystery. Yes, there were U.S.

boots on the ground in this operation, but not nearly enough to enforce law and order. Where do we go from here?The ambiguity is unsettling. Nevertheless, it’s a good sign that Mr.

Trump doesn’t think Mr. Maduro’s capture is the end of the task at hand. The transition needs U.S.

leadership and the president said he’s ready to provide it.Caracas was quiet on Saturday afternoon and the opposition, which has been preparing for this moment for more than a year under the leadership of Nobel Prize Winner María Corina Machado, is in wait-and-see mode.The regime has been decapitated. But some Maduro henchmen are digging in. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the most ruthless member of the top echelon, went into hiding, his reputation for cowardice intact.

From there he called Venezuelans to the streets to protest against the U.S. His enforcers were spotted cruising Caracas slums. People mostly stayed inside.

Unconfirmed reports say that some military higher-ups fled the country.Mr. Maduro had been given a chance to exit the country without violence, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the press conference. Mr.