Meanwhile Venezuelans who live on the island celebrated the end of Maduro who was captured in a daring overnight raid by U.S. special forces. They were also concerned that it would lead to Civil War in Venezuela. Their note of caution was also shared by the former President of the Balearic government, Francina Armengol, who is now Speaker of the Spanish parliament. She said that she was concerned about what was happening in the South American country and called for caution and the respect of international law.
Sanchez also called on all parties to "think of the civilian population, to respect the United Nations Charter, and to articulate a fair and dialogued transition."
In Madrid, Venezuelan opposition activists and others who follow the situation in their homeland were glued to TV and social media on Saturday, amazed by news of Nicolas Maduro's
capture by U.S. forces. But they also wondered what comes next.
"We are all happy," one opposition figure told Reuters by WhatsApp. "But we must ensure that the transition is orderly, peaceful and respectful," said the person, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Manuel Garcia, a former opposition leader and lawmaker who left Venezuela after the disputed 2024 election, said the speed of Maduro's removal demonstrated his government did not have the "military capacity they have been boasting about".
"Today marks the beginning of a new stage that will culminate in the consolidation of the transition led by María Corina and President Edmundo Gonzalez," Garcia said.
José Miguel Calvillo, an international affairs and migration professor at Madrid's Complutense University, said it was "very likely" that the U.S. had already had some back-channel discussions with elements of the Venezuelan government and the military to arrange a transition.
In the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago where many Venezuelans live, Agustín Rodríguez, vice president of the Canarian-Venezuelan Union migrant support network, said he had mixed feelings about Saturday's events.
But he hoped it meant the third of Venezuela's population that lives in exile - something he described as the country's "displaced heart" - could return. Some 7.7 million Venezuelans left the country in recent years.
"No one likes to see these kinds of fireworks, but they may be necessary to find a way out for the country in which there can be a return to power alternation, there can be a future, people can return to their country," he said.