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Venezuelan migrants around the world erupted in celebration on Saturday following the U.S.-led capture of President Nicolas Maduro, whose government oversaw one of the world’s largest migration exoduses in recent history.
Chants celebrating Maduro’s capture were heard in the streets of Chile’s 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 woman who has spent the last seven years in Chile.
“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.”
Since 2014, some 7.7 million Venezuelans, or 20 per cent of the population, have left the country, unable to afford food or seeking better opportunities abroad, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration.
Neighbouring Colombia has received 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 assisting migrants and refugees from Venezuela set up by the U.N. migration agency.
In Peru’s capital Lima, 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 hoped to go back.
“Knowing that my dad was alive to see the fall of Nicolas Maduro is very emotional. I would like to see his face,” she said.
Peruvian President Jose Jeri said on X that his government would facilitate the immediate return of Venezuelans, regardless of their immigration status.
For years, the U.S. was a haven for Venezuelans but many were branded criminals and forced to seek refuge elsewhere during President Donald Trump’s second term.
In Spain, thousands of people gathered at central Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and applauded as they watched Trump’s press 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 would hold for their country and its citizens.
Andres Losada, who has lived in Spain for three years and is among the 400,000 Venezuelans residing in the country according to official data, said he is struggling between worry and joy about the situation in Venezuela.
U.S. President Donald Trump said his country will ‘run’ Venezuela following the U.S.-led ouster of President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday. Trump did not provide a timeline but said the stewardship would last until ‘a proper transition can take place.’
“Although what people are going through in Caracas is tough, 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 information on their phones, while some went to stock up on groceries in case they need to hunker down for a prolonged period.
Speaking to a local TV station in Spain, Agustin Rodriguez, the vice president of a Venezuelan cultural association, expressed concern about the strikes but said they “may be necessary to find a way out for the country in which there can be a return to power alternation, where there can be a future.”
