Yesterday Saturday, thousands of people in cities throughout the world celebrated the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro by US forces. Almost eight million people escaped economic collapse and persecution under Maduro.
According to AFP, thousands of people gathered in Santiago, the capital of Chile, waving the Venezuelan flag with excitement. Many of them were dressed in the official colors of Venezuela—yellow, blue, and red.
Street seller Yurimar Rojas told our correspondent, “At last we’ll be able to go back home,” as he struggled to be heard above the enthusiastic crowd.
“Finally, we’re going to live in a free nation!” he shouted.
In an early-morning military strike, US agents abducted Maduro, who had previously been widely believed to have made bogus claims to reelection in 2018 and 2024. He was then supposed to be sent to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
Yasmery Gallardo, 61, exclaimed, “This is tremendous for us.” She is planning to go back to her home country of Chile soon after living there for eight years.
It’s already travel planning time for me…A return to her own country is something she is eagerly anticipating.
Jose Antonio Kast, the far-right president-elect of Chile, has pledged to deport over 340,000 unauthorized migrants, whom he claims are responsible for an increase in crime, terrifying Venezuelans living in the country.
‘Trump, I am grateful.’
Still additional throngs converged in Miami, where they kissed and sang the Venezuelan flag.
An individual yelled out from the throng: “Thank you, Trump!”
“Today, January 3rd, the dreams of Venezuelans abroad came true,” reveler Ana Gonzalez told our correspondent.
Anabela Ramos added, “I’ve been waiting for this moment for 27 years and now it’s finally happened, it’s finally happened!”
About 400,000 Venezuelans call Spain home, and hundreds gathered in Madrid to celebrate.
They yelled out, “He is gone, he is gone!” and “He has fallen, he has fallen!” while hugging and many were carrying the Venezuelan flag.
“I came to celebrate: at last we’re emerging from this dictatorship!” exclaimed Pedro Marcano, 47, who is determined to return home after eleven years abroad.
But “we’ll need things to be a bit clearer” before anything else, he stated.
It is unclear what will happen to the country going forward, since President Trump stated yesterday that the US will “run” Venezuela until a transfer of authority can take place.
According to Trump, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has expressed her readiness to collaborate with Washington. Trump further said that Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition, “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country” to be elected president.
It was in a subsequent public speech that Rodriguez emphasized Maduro’s status as Venezuela’s “only president” and the readiness of the government to protect the nation.
After hearing Machado’s statement read out during the Madrid demonstration, the audience went silent.
In response to Machado’s cry, “Venezuela will be free!” Marcano dabbed at his eye.
“Justice from on high”
Hairstylist Kevin Zambrano told our correspondent that he was “Happy, happy, happy, happy” to see Maduro go in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, which is home to more Venezuelans than any other country. Zambrano grinned broadly as he spoke.
“Once the first step is completed, all subsequent steps are an advantage. Having departed his native Venezuela a decade ago, he expressed his gratitude to President Trump for his assistance at his Bogota employment.
Yeiner Benitez, a security guard in the capital of Colombia, cried as he remembered the terror and misery that forced him to flee Venezuela in 2022.
His uncle passed away while he was gone from what Benitez described as a typical ailment in Venezuelans suffering from a shortage of medication, a common occurrence in the country hit hard by the economic crisis.
“Venezuela has gone through a very difficult process; these have been very hard years — years of hunger, misery, torture, friends lost, friends who disappeared,” Benitez conveyed to our correspondent.
What is happening now is amazing; it’s divine justice. Please excuse my emotional response.
The perceived interference of foreign powers in the domestic affairs of a sovereign nation did not sit well with many. Dozens of protesters flocked to the US embassy in Mexico City to voice their disapproval, carrying signs reading “No to war.”
Protest organizer Mario Benitez urged the gathering, “Venezuelan brothers, resist… don’t hand over your land, your oil, your gold” to the US dollars.
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