Jan 3 (Reuters) – Venezuelan migrants around the world erupted in celebration on Saturday following the U.S.-led deposition of President Nicolas Maduro, whose government prompted one of the largest migration crises 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% 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.
Neighboring Colombia has received the largest share of the diaspora, around 2.8 million, 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.
For years, the U.S. was a haven for Venezuelans but in President Donald Trump’s second term many are being branded criminals and forced to seek refuge elsewhere.
SPECULATION ABOUT THE FUTURE
After the initial joy, doubts about Venezuela’s future also set in, as Venezuelans abroad wonder what the future holds 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.
“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.”
(Reporting by Rodrigo Gutierres and Nicolas Cortes in Chile, Elena Rodriguez and Raul Cadenas in Madrid; Additional reporting by Ana Cantero in Madrid; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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