On January 3rd the United States captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. The next day dozens of Venezuelans gathered at El Arepazo, a famous restaurant and cultural center in Doral, to celebrate. A month later I traveled there to see what Miami Venezuelans have to say after the dust settled.
“When Maduro got captured, I was very happy. I was ecstatic. I wish I were with Trump so I could personally tell him thank you. [María Corina Machado] is a spectacular woman and very smart. I think she has the best interests for Venezuelans at heart, and I hope they let her have control.”
“Cuando capturaron a Maduro, me alegré muchísimo, estaba eufórica. Ojalá hubiera estado con Trump para poder darle las gracias personalmente. María es una mujer espectacular y muy inteligente. Creo que vela por los mejores intereses de los venezolanos y espero que le permitan tomar el control.”
Louidi Abdo, lived in Venezuela all her life, immigrated to America with her husband Roger in 2023.
“Maduro’s capture is great. That is what Venezuela needed. With Chavez it was bad, but after Maduro came into power, it was much worse. I think María Machado deserves a chance, but my hope is for someone to govern that is fair, leads well, and puts Venezuela first.”
“La captura de Maduro es genial, eso era lo que Venezuela necesitaba. Con Chávez la situación era mala, pero después de que Maduro llegó al poder, empeoró mucho. Creo que María Machado merece una oportunidad, pero mi esperanza es que gobierne alguien justo, que dirija bien y que ponga a Venezuela en primer lugar.”
Roger Abdo, lived in Venezuela for 60 years, immigrated to America with his wife Louidi in 2023
“Everything started with Chavez, and after Maduro was elected Venezuela took a turn for the worst. There were no opportunities, a lot of political oppression, and I saw my country falling apart, so I left. I am very happy Maduro got captured, but the United States needs to finish the job. We had a lot of opposition leaders like Henrique Capriles and Edmundo González Urrutia, and I like Maria way more than those guys. I hope, for the future of Venezuela, that now that we have a new president, everything will start to move in the right direction, putting Venezuela first. I am happy because the United States helped the Venezuelan people. Nobody around the world is doing something like that because they think they are better off not getting involved and above the suffering of my people. He was an oppressor.”
“Todo empezó con Chávez y, tras la elección de Maduro, Venezuela empeoró drásticamente. No había oportunidades, había mucha opresión política y vi cómo mi país se desmoronaba, así que me fui. Me alegra mucho que hayan capturado a Maduro, pero Estados Unidos tiene que terminar el trabajo. Tuvimos muchos líderes de la oposición, como Henrique Capriles y Edmundo González Urrutia, y María Corina Machado me gusta mucho más que ellos. Espero que, ahora que tenemos un nuevo presidente, el futuro de Venezuela mejore y todo empiece a ir en la dirección correcta, priorizando a Venezuela. Estoy feliz porque Estados Unidos ayudó al pueblo venezolano. Nadie más en el mundo está haciendo algo así, porque creen que es mejor no involucrarse y se muestran indiferentes ante el sufrimiento de mi gente.”
José Luis, lived in Venezuela for 40 years, immigrated to America in 2016
