Tears, relief and questions about what comes next: Venezuelans in U.S. celebrate Maduro capture

The news elicited a spontaneous celebration in Doral, the city in Florida with the highest concentration of Venezuelans in the U.S.

DORAL, Fla. — They came out in the middle of the night when they heard the news, some still in pajamas as they joined the crowd of revelers waving Venezuelan flags and dancing, singing and crying.

“Thank you, Lord, thank you president of the United States. I’ve been waiting for years — he’s done so much damage. This has been horrible,” said Yajaira, a Venezuelan American from the city of Maracaibo.

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The news that the U.S. had attacked Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife elicited a spontaneous celebration in front of El Arepazo, a restaurant in Doral, a city in Miami-Dade County nicknamed “Doralzuela” because it has the highest concentration of Venezuelans in the U.S.

“We’ve been here eight years, eight years already,” Yajaira said, referring to how long she’s been in the U.S. “They killed my older brother. It was so tough. They kidnapped my brothers. That was tough. I thank God for all of this because it’s been tough,” she said, her voice breaking as she looked up at the sky.