‘A million WhatsApp messages’: Venezuelans in N.S. react to Maduro’s capture after U.S. strike

Verónica Gutiérrez woke up to what seemed like “a million WhatsApp messages” from her family in Venezuela after the U.S. launched a strike on the capital of the country that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday.

In the early hours of Saturday, the U.S. launched a “large-scale strike” in Caracas and took Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of their home within the Fort Tiuna military installation. 

Gutiérrez, who left Venezuela in 2015, describes feeling a mix of optimism and confusion at the news. 

She's been hoping for the time when Maduro would be removed from office. Now that it has happened, she wonders what the future will look like. 

“We have been living in this dictatorship for 26 years,” she said, referring to Maduro’s regime and that of his predecessor, Hugo Chávez. “The question is, is this OK to happen with Trump?”

After the initial wave of emotions washed over, Gutiérrez started thinking about her family. 

Her parents, who live with her in Bridgewater, were visiting her grandmother for the holidays. Now, they are unsure how they will be getting back to Nova Scotia.

She says when visiting home, her parents travel from Canada to Colombia and drive to Venezuela from there. After the strike, she says this is not possible. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media that his country is sending its own armed forces to the border in case of mass migration from Venezuela. 

“We don't know what they're going to do because it's very hard to fly [from] Venezuela,” Gutiérrez said. 

Ivon Valdebenito, another Venezuelan living in Halifax, said she is pleased that Maduro isn't in power anymore.

“I feel happy. I feel like, yes, finally, justice was made for our country, for my country,” she said. “And this is just the beginning.”

She said she remembers what it was like living in Venezuela. It was “horrible,” she said, experiencing both hyperinflation and high rates of crime, which she blames Maduro for. 

“It was very hard to handle. The robbers, the kidnappings. I was worried about my life,” Valdebenito said. 

The conditions in Venezuela pushed many to leave the country, and according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, there are currently almost 8 million Venezuelans living outside their country.