The arrest of Nicolás Maduro by the United States had an immediate global impact and opened a scenario of uncertainty in Venezuela that also reaches sports. The first consequences have already become visible with the indefinite suspension of the baseball league, while soccer is watching closely what will happen with the clubs that must compete in the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana.
Although the Venezuelan domestic tournament is currently on break, the current context makes it unlikely that activity will resume on January 30, as planned. In that context, attention is focused on the eight teams that qualified for continental competitions: Universidad Central, Deportivo La Guaira, Carabobo, and Deportivo Táchira in the Libertadores; Puerto Cabello, Monagas, Caracas, and Metropolitanos in the Sudamericana.
For the moment, the exclusion of the clubs isn't being considered, but the possibility that they will lose home-field advantage is emerging strongly. The first sensitive case is Deportivo Táchira, which must face The Strongest in the first phase of the Libertadores, with the second leg scheduled for February 10 in Venezuela. If the political situation doesn't stabilize, CONMEBOL could order the match to be moved to another country.
The same thing could happen later in Phase 2, a stage in which Carabobo would make its home debut on February 17 against Huachipato. Meanwhile, La Guaira and Universidad Central, which will enter directly into the group stage of the Libertadores in April, are the ones that have the best chances of keeping their home status. The assessment of the context will be carried out on the fly, taking into account security and logistics.
