CARACAS, Venezuela — The indictment of Raul Castro was big news in Venezuela, especially among those who consider the ouster of the country’s dictator, former President Nicolas Maduro, the beginning of change.

Venezuelans consider it a huge lesson as for how far President Donald Trump is willing to go to intervene in regional affairs.

“They have a strategy to create a space for economic development in Venezuela and Cuba, and that’s a great opportunity also for the United States,” former Venezuelan political prisoner Jesus Armas told Local 10 News reporter Glenna Milberg in Caracas on Wednesday.

Armas said it also “(creates) momentum for the release of political prisoners” in Venezuela.

Add to that the economic spiral, soaring inflation, blackouts and water shortages.

Protesters in Caracas calling for the release of political prisoners marched right through military police taking their photos and right up to the prison administration building.

That type of march certainly isn’t the first of its kind, but for so many people, now is a moment.

Protester Rosa Uruja told Local 10 News that Venezuela is a “totally different country” since the Jan. 3 ouster of Maduro.

Equally important to what’s being said is what’s not: Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, a member of Maduro’s party, a frequent poster on social media, has had nothing to say about the Castro indictment. Neither has her brother, the leader in the country’s National Assembly, or Venezuela’s foreign minister.

Assignment Venezuela: After Castro indictment, protesters in Caracas see ‘momentum’ afoot

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Glenna Milberg