Quote:Venezuelans worldwide celebrate as exiles react to Maduro’s capture
Joyful crowds gathered in Miami, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Madrid after Maduro capture
By Michael Dorgan Fox News
Published January 3, 2026 3:07pm EST

Venezuelans across the globe took to the streets after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, whose rule was marked by economic collapse and mass migration out of the oil-rich nation.

Venezuelans in Miami, Fla., Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Madrid, Spain, donned Venezuela’s national colors and waved flags hours after President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and his wife had been flown out of the country following an overnight U.S. military operation.

In Miami, Venezuelans danced and cheered, with celebrations also taking place outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla. In Doral, Fla., revelers chanted "Liberty!" and draped Venezuelan flags over their shoulders.


Venezuelans celebrate the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro outside Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Outside the El Arepazo restaurant, a hub of the Venezuelan culture of Doral, one man held a piece of cardboard with "Libertad" scrawled with a black marker. It was a sentiment expressed by other native Venezuelans hoping for a new beginning for their home country as they chanted, "Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!"

"We’re like everybody — it’s a combination of feelings, of course," Alejandra Arrieta, who came to the U.S. in 1997, told The Associated Press.

"There’s fears. There’s excitement," he said. "There’s so many years that we’ve been waiting for this. Something had to happen in Venezuela. We all need the freedom."


A child holds a sign reading, "Somos Libres" ("We Are Free") during a rally in Santiago, Chile, on Jan. 3, 2026, after President Donald Trump said U.S. forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following a military operation. (Sebastián Vivallo Oñate/Agencia Makro/Getty Images)

Ecstatic crowds also gathered in Santiago, Chile, where one child held a sign reading "Somos Libres," meaning, "We Are Free."

The demonstrations reflected the scale of Venezuela’s diaspora, which has grown dramatically during Maduro’s years in power, as millions fled what critics describe as a period of economic collapse marked by hyperinflation and widespread food shortages.

Since 2017, roughly 8 million people have fled Venezuela, making it one of the world’s largest displacement crises, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.


Venezuelans in Peru celebrate at Miguel de Cervantes Park near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on Jan. 3, 2026, after President Donald Trump said U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following strikes on Venezuela. (Connie France / AFP via Getty Images)

More than 6.9 million Venezuelans are currently hosted in Latin American and Caribbean countries, while hundreds of thousands more live in the United States and Europe, where diaspora communities have remained politically active and closely engaged with events back home.


People celebrate in Madrid, Spain, on Jan. 3, 2026, after President Donald Trump said the United States had struck Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters/Violeta Santos Moura)


People hold Venezuelan and U.S. flags as they react in the streets of Miami, Fla., on Jan. 3, 2026, after President Donald Trump said the United States struck Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

Maduro has been in power since 2013, when he succeeded longtime Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez following Chávez’s death, presiding over a period marked by economic decline, political unrest and mass migration.

Not all reactions to the U.S. action were celebratory.


People react in the streets of Miami, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2026, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. had struck Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

Protests both in favor of and against the strikes have been scheduled in Buenos Aires and other cities across the region, underscoring deep divisions over Venezuela’s future and Washington’s role in the crisis.

In Greece, members of the Greek Communist Party demonstrated against Maduro’s capture.