Venezuelans across the globe celebrated Saturday after the US captured their homeland’s longtime dictator and alleged drug titan — whose repressive regime triggered one of the largest migration crises in recent history.
Jubilant celebrants took to the streets in the US, South America and Europe in the hours after captured strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife were flown to the states and indicted on a litany of federal charges.
In the South Florida city of Doral — home to the largest Venezuelan community in the US – hundreds have been celebrating in the street since 4 a.m.
Venezuelans celebrate in Madrid after Trump announced that Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country.AP
“Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!” the crowd chanted.
The crowd gathered outside El Arepazo, a popular restaurant, wrapped in their native country’s flags while banging pots and pans.
The celebrants cried, danced to Venezuelan music and some popped champagne bottles.
“I started crying. I’ve seen my dad cry three times in my life: his dad dying, Fidel dying and today…It’s historic,” one woman told NBC Miami.
“I’m very excited…We are celebrating. Thanks to President Trump and the U.S. military for this perfect operation,” said one man, who expressed hope for the future of Venezuela.
A third simply said he had “no words” for the monumental moment.
Doral in South Florida is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the US.REUTERS
Similar celebrations were taking place in Madrid, Spain as well as in Santiago, Chile — where revelers raised American flags alongside Venezuelan ones.
“We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country,” said Khaty Yanez, a Venezuelan woman who has spent the last seven years in Chile, told Reuters.
“My joy is too big,” her compatriot Jose Gregorio said.
“After so many years, after so many struggles, after so much work, today is the day. Today is the day of freedom.”
Venezuelans in Chile celebrate the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, waving Venezuelan flags and being showered with confetti.AFP via Getty Images
A white car with “Free Venezuela” written on the back window and an arm holding a Venezuelan flag out the passenger window.AFP via Getty Images
Venezuela itself did not have any public celebrations — security forces patrolled largely empty streets at dawn in the capital, Caracas, in the wake of the US airstrikes.
Some people were seen carrying Maduro’s portrait and embracing in the country’s capital.
There has been a major exodus from Venezuela under Maduro’s presidency and the economic collapse his leadership wrought.
Nearly 8 million people — or 20% of the population — have fled the country since 2018 after being unable to afford food.
Venezuelans celebrate in Lima, Peru, with Venezuelan flags and caps.
Venezuelan citizens gather in Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, holding a Venezuelan flag and signs that read “I want to return” and “To embrace my history.”AFP via Getty Images
Roughly 85% of those natives migrated to neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
Maduro was indicted on a litany of charges, with federal prosecutors accusing Maduro of leading “a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.”
Maduro allegedly partnered with “some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world” to bring as much as 250 tons of cocaine into the US by 2020 via go-fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships or via planes from clandestine airstrips, according to the indictment.
