Residents of Pineville, North Carolina, a suburb brimming with a vibrant Venezuelan community, found themselves caught in a whirlwind of emotions amidst recent international events. The Latin Corner, a hub for Venezuelan culture, became the epicenter of celebration and reflection as surprising news unfolded.
The atmosphere was charged with the sounds of salsa, merengue, and the opening of Polar beer cans, a beloved Venezuelan pilsner now available in the U.S. The gathering of approximately 100 people was captivated by a broadcast detailing a clandestine U.S. military operation that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores. This operation, which took place early Saturday, was a pivotal moment for the Venezuelan diaspora.
The news, which was confirmed when Maduro appeared in a New York federal court to face drug trafficking charges, left the crowd in awe. José Medina, a Venezuelan expat, expressed disbelief, saying, “I couldn’t believe it until I saw it on T.V., then I processed it, and I still couldn’t believe it, and then I processed it again.” The crowd erupted in cheers as footage showed Maduro being escorted in handcuffs from a U.S. military plane.
Aaron Sánchez-Guerra
/
WUNC
A spontaneous protest song echoed in Spanish: “It fell! And it fell! This government has fallen!” Among the crowd, Juan Carlos Salazar declared, “This is the best start to the new year. They finally took this guy out. There are still more they need to take out, but this is a step in the right direction.”
Salazar, who has supported President Donald Trump, credited him for the operation, although he criticized Trump’s immigration policies in North Carolina. “With the immigration policy of chasing people down, I didn’t agree,” he shared.
In North Carolina, which hosts an estimated 25,000 Venezuelans, the ousting of Maduro was seen as a hopeful sign of the end of the Chavista regime. The Venezuelan diaspora, largely driven from their homeland by the economic turmoil that started under Hugo Chávez, saw Maduro’s arrest as a beacon of hope.
Rosina Albano, who fled Venezuela after experiencing state violence firsthand, was moved to tears. “I’ve been waiting 26 years for this,” she said, still haunted by the memories of attacks on her family by state forces in Barquisimeto.
Uncertainty for Venezuela’s future
Despite the celebrations, there was an underlying concern about Venezuela’s future among the crowd. Iohany Solís expressed mixed emotions, saying, “I am happy on the one hand, but I’m also feeling a lot of anxiety and I’m sure anyone who still has family in Venezuela must feel the same.”
The U.S., under the Trump administration, plans to guide Venezuela’s transition. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the U.S. will be “running policy” in Venezuela and enforcing its influence through an “oil quarantine” off Venezuela’s coast.
This operation, however, sparked criticism, with American activist groups organizing protests against the U.S. intervention, as reported by The News & Observer.
The New York Times reported that the airstrikes during the operation resulted in around 40 fatalities, including civilians.
With the country’s future uncertain, Miguel Chirinos of the Venezuelan Cultural Association of North Carolina voiced concerns about the next steps. “For how long can this situation be there?” he questioned, pondering whether new presidential elections would be called. “Until now, nobody knows.”
Chirinos expressed his hope that Venezuela does not become a “non-official U.S. territory.”
