DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - Republican U.S. lawmakers representing Florida commended the Venezuelan exile community for keeping the fight alive and the Trump administration for capturing now deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Monday morning, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody and U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez held a press conference at a Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine restaurant in Doral.
“The day of a free and democratic Venezuela is close at hand,” Giménez said.
“Far too long the Venezuelan people have lived under a dictator who is a criminal, a drug trafficker. Indeed, he is a criminal that has now been brought here to the United States to face justice,” Moody said.
“So many people here have kept this issue alive so we can continue to fight for freedom and liberty in Venezuela, and in turn, allowing President Trump to do the same,” Scott said. “From day one, President Trump has held Maduro accountable.”
The lawmakers’ comments follow weekend celebrations by South Florida’s Venezuelan community that saw them expressing mixed emotions about the capture of by U.S. soldiers that sent shock waves around the world.
Shortly after President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured, hundreds of people gathered in Doral, home to the largest Venezuelan population in the U.S. The celebrations lasted throughout the weekend, with demonstrators speaking out on what they described as a newfound sense of freedom.
“I felt great relief, happiness, sad. It’s a mix of emotion,” Marcel Decir told 7News.
Revelers came together to celebrate outside of El Arepazo in Doral, a longtime hub for Venezuelans in South Florida.
While Venezuelans in Doral would typically congregate outside the restaurant to call for change and to denounce their country’s dictatorship, this weekend’s gathering was one of happiness and celebration.
“We are very, very, very happy, because we’ve been waiting for this time for like 26 years,” Niyana Nava said.
For decades, Venezuelans have suffered under Maduro’s dictatorship, living under oppression and political unrest, forcing many to flee the country.
“The country crumbled, fell apart. Venezuela was the thriving country, and there’s 8 million of us out of Venezuela,” Decir said.
Decir and Nava are just a few of the millions of Venezuelans who have fled.
“I’ve been living here for so many years, but my heart is in my country,” Nava said.
Maduro had been the country’s leader of Venezuela since 2013 after serving as Vice President under Hugo Chávez. His most recent election “victories” have been contested and not recognized by many nations.
For many, the ongoing regime meant accepting the fact that they may never see their family back in their home country again. Now, there’s a sense of hope.
“I left at 7 years old because of the politics problem going on, and my parents just thought it was a better opportunity for me here than there,” one young woman told 7News.
The woman added she would want to go back to Venezuela, but not until “everything’s fixed.”
Another young Venezuelan told 7News, “I want to go back as soon as possible. I want to go see my family.”
While many in South Florida were celebrating, many said there’s still significant apprehension in Venezuela.
The same young man who wants to see his famile told 7News that his loved ones back home do not feel completely safe just yet.
“They told me that everything’s good, that everything’s more calm, but obviously, people still don’t want to go outside because there’s still a lot of dictators left that they haven’t got yet,” he said.
The demonstrations 7News reported on over the weekend in Doral came as Maduro was being held in New York City. Maduro and his wife were transported under armed guard, Monday morning, from the Brooklyn jail where they’d been detained to a Manhattan courthouse, where the deposed leader pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges.
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