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Venezuelan migrants around the world erupted in celebration Saturday after the US-led capture of President Nicolas Maduro, whose government oversaw one of the world’s largest migratory exoduses in recent history.
Chants celebrating Maduro’s capture were heard in the streets of the Chilean capital, where Venezuelans gathered to share their joy.
“We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country,” said Khaty Yanez, a Venezuelan who has spent the last seven years in Chile.
“My joy is too great,” said his compatriot José Gregorio. “After so many years, after so many struggles, after so much work, today is the big day. Today is the day of freedom.”
Since 2014, some 7.7 million Venezuelans, or 20 percent of the population, have left the country, unable to buy food or seeking better opportunities abroad, according to the ministry. United Nations International Organization for Migration.
Neighboring Colombia has hosted the largest share of the diaspora, with around 2.8 million Venezuelans, followed by 1.7 million in Peru, according to the R4V platform, a group of regional NGOs helping migrants and refugees from Venezuela created by the United Nations migration agency.
In Lima, Peru’s capital, dozens of Venezuelans gathered, many wrapped in their country’s flag, to mark Maduro’s capture.
Venezuelan migrant Milagros Ortega, whose parents are still in Venezuela, said she hopes to return.
“Knowing that my father was alive to witness the fall of Nicolas Maduro is very moving. I would like to see his face,” she said.
Peruvian President José Jeri said on X that his government would facilitate the immediate return of Venezuelans, regardless of their immigration status.
For years, the United States was a haven for Venezuelans, but many were labeled criminals and forced to flee. seek refuge elsewhere during President Donald Trump’s second term.
In Spain, thousands of people gathered at Puerta del Sol in central Madrid and applauded as they watched Trump’s news conference live.
In the afternoon, groups of Venezuelans are also expected to gather to celebrate in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires.
Speculation about the future
After the initial joy, doubts about Venezuela’s future also set in, as Venezuelans abroad wondered what the future held for their country and its citizens.
Andres Losada, who has lived in Spain for three years and is one of 400,000 Venezuelans residing in the country according to official data, said he was struggling between worry and joy about the situation in Venezuela.
WATCH | Trump says US will ‘run’ Venezuela after capturing country’s president:
US President Donald Trump said his country would “lead” Venezuela following the US ouster of President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. Trump did not provide a timeline, but said the administration would last until “an appropriate transition can take place.”
“Even though what people are experiencing in Caracas is hard, I believe that beyond that, there is a light that will lead us to freedom,” he added.
Venezuelan security forces patrolled largely empty streets at dawn in the capital, Caracas, on Saturday. Most residents stayed home, devouring the latest news on their phones, while some went to stock up on supplies in case they needed to hunker down for an extended period.
Speaking to a local television station in Spain, Agustin Rodriguez, vice president of a Venezuelan cultural association, expressed concern about the strikes but said they “may be necessary to find a way out of the country in which there can be a return to alternation in power, where there can be a future.”
