I'm sure many of them are scared, but I also think that many of them know that it's now or never to get rid of Chavez. That's certainly how I'd feel if I lived there.
A risk? Of course. But I'm sure a lot of these people know that they're going to be killed anyway, when Chavez gets around to settling accounts. Go down fighting.
And this time, make sure Chavez doesn't get out the door alive. That was their big mistake, because they were playing by civilized rules with somebody to whom the rules mean nothing.