Venezuelans in South Florida celebrate the overthrow of the Maduro government

DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Revelers chanted “freedom” and draped Venezuelan flags over their shoulders in South Florida on Saturday to celebrate the U.S. military offensive that toppled the government of Nicolas Maduro — a stunning result they had longed for but left them wondering what comes next in their troubled homeland.

For some Venezuelan citizens, the military action — the culmination of months of mounting American pressure — has brought their dreams of reuniting with loved ones closer to reality after years of heartbreaking separation.

Read more: Maduro’s arrest and Trump’s claim that the United States will run Venezuela raise new legal questions

People gathered for a rally in Doral, Florida — the Miami suburb home to President Donald Trump’s golf resort and where nearly half the population is of Venezuelan descent — as news spread that the now-deposed Venezuelan president had been arrested and flown out of the country.

Outside El Arepazo restaurant, the center of Venezuelan culture in Doral, a man held a piece of cardboard with the word “Libertad” scrawled in black marker. This was the sentiment expressed by other Venezuelan citizens hoping for a new beginning for their home country as they chanted “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”

Alejandra Arrieta, who came to the United States in 1997, said: “We’re like everyone – it’s a mixture of emotions, of course. There are fears. There is excitement. We have been waiting for this for many years. Something was bound to happen in Venezuela. We all need freedom.”

For David Nunez, the regime change was the hope of a long-awaited reunion with his loved ones.

Nunez said he fled to the United States six years ago after being persecuted in Venezuela because of his political activism. He has not seen his daughters – ages 8 and 17 – since then.

“The most important thing is that we will be able to be with our families soon,” Nunez said. “For me at least, I haven’t seen my daughters for six years, so I have mixed feelings. I cried a lot. I’m really happy because I know that I will be able to return to Venezuela very soon.”

Trump insisted on Saturday that the US government would run the country at least temporarily, and it is already doing so. The action represents the culmination of an escalating pressure campaign by the Trump administration on the oil-rich South American country, as well as weeks of planning to track Maduro’s behavioral habits.

After Trump’s press conference on US actions in Venezuela, people were still gathered outside the Doral restaurant, singing, dancing and waving flags. The percussionist played the drums as the crowd sang.

About 8 million people have fled Venezuela since 2014, settling first in neighboring countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. After the COVID-19 pandemic, they increasingly set their sights on the United States, walking through the jungle in Colombia and Panama or traveling to the United States on humanitarian parole with a financial sponsor.

He watches: Venezuelan immigrants in Chicago live in fear after losing their temporary legal status

In South Florida, deep concerns in the Venezuelan community over Trump’s strict immigration policies gave way to celebrations after Maduro was ousted in a US military operation early Saturday.

In Doral, upper-middle-class professionals and businessmen came to invest in real estate and businesses when socialist Hugo Chavez won the presidency in the late 1990s. They were followed by political opponents and businessmen who established small businesses. In recent years, more low-income Venezuelans have come to work in service industries.

They are doctors, lawyers, beauticians, construction workers and house cleaners. Some are naturalized US citizens or live in the country illegally with US-born children. Others overstay their tourist visas, seek asylum, or obtain some form of temporary status.

Niorka Melendez, who fled Venezuela in 2015, said on Saturday that she hoped Maduro’s ouster would improve life in her homeland. Melendez immigrated to New York City, where she co-founded the Venezuelan and Migrant Assistance Group, which strives to empower immigrants. She became a consistent advocate for change in her homeland, where she said her citizens were facing a humanitarian crisis.

Now, she hopes those difficulties will disappear.

“For us, this is just the beginning of the justice we need to see,” Melendez said in a phone interview.

She added that her country had reached a “breaking point” due to forced displacement, oppression, hunger and fear. Now international humanitarian support is needed to help Venezuela’s recovery.

“Removing the authoritarian regime responsible for these crimes creates the possibility, not a guarantee, but the possibility of recovery,” she said. “A future without criminal control of institutions is the minimum condition for rebuilding a country based on justice, the rule of law and democratic guarantees.”

Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky.