DORAL, Fla. — In the predawn hours, word spread rapidly through this South Florida community, and within minutes, the streets filled with Venezuelan Americans who had waited years for this moment. Some arrived still wearing their nightclothes, joining what quickly became a spontaneous celebration of dancing, singing, and tears of relief.
The cause of their jubilation: reports that United States military forces had conducted operations in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
“Thank you, Lord, thank you president of the United States,” said Yajaira, a Venezuelan American who emigrated from Maracaibo. “I have been waiting for years. He has done so much damage. This has been horrible.”
The celebration centered around El Arepazo, a restaurant in Doral, a city within Miami-Dade County that has earned the nickname “Doralzuela” due to its distinction as home to the highest concentration of Venezuelan immigrants in the United States.
For many in attendance, the news represented not merely a political development but a deeply personal vindication. Yajaira, who has lived in the United States for eight years, recounted the toll the Maduro regime had taken on her family. “They killed my older brother. It was so tough. They kidnapped my brothers. That was tough,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion as she looked skyward. “I thank God for all of this because it has been tough.”
As morning arrived, the crowds continued to swell. Chants in Spanish echoed through the streets: “The government is over, the government has fallen.” Car horns punctuated the air, and music blared from vehicles and storefronts as the celebration took on a festival atmosphere.
The Venezuelan exodus to Florida and other parts of the United States accelerated dramatically in recent years as economic collapse and political repression intensified under Maduro’s rule. What began as a trickle of emigrants fleeing economic hardship in the early years of the Bolivarian Revolution has become one of the largest displacement crises in the Western Hemisphere’s modern history.
Doral has become the epicenter of this diaspora community in the United States. The city’s Venezuelan population has transformed its cultural landscape, with restaurants, businesses, and community organizations reflecting the heritage of those who fled their homeland seeking safety and opportunity.
The scenes in Doral reflect the profound impact that developments in Venezuela continue to have on the substantial exile community in South Florida. For many of these families, the news represents hope that they might one day return to a Venezuela free from the authoritarian control that drove them from their homes.
As the celebration continued throughout the morning, the emotional weight of the moment remained evident in the faces of those gathered, many of whom have spent years separated from family members who remained in Venezuela, living under conditions that have deteriorated dramatically during Maduro’s tenure.
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