Nicolás Maduro’s capture by US met with celebrations in South Florida and apprehension in Caracas

By Ray Sanchez, CNN

(CNN) — After word spread early Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces in Caracas, jubilant demonstrators sang and danced on streets more than 1,300 miles away in the heart of South Florida’s Venezuelan community.

In Venezuela, however, the reaction to Maduro’s ouster was much more subdued, with footage from the nation’s capital showing mostly desolate streets and highways and anxious residents in long lines at supermarkets and drugstores amid the uncertainly over what some experts are calling the latest show of American gunboat diplomacy.

In the suburb of Doral, Florida, a city about 15 miles west of Miami, that is home to more Venezuelan immigrants than any other city in the US, affectionately known as “Doralzuela,” the celebrations over Maduro’s capture began in the predawn hours.

Throughout the day, the impromptu gathering was marked by the singing of Venezuela’s national anthem, chants of “Liberty!” and tears of joy flowing from the eyes of people waving yellow, blue and red Venezuelan flags. Some carried signs that read, “Make Venezuela Great Again.”

The boisterous party grew outside El Arepazo, an arepa shop at a gas station popular as a gathering spot for Venezuelans who have fled their country in recent years amid repression and economic hardship.

“Justice is being served for all the Venezuelans who left our country,” Kirvin Suarez told Reuters outside the restaurant.

In some US cities, from Boston to Minneapolis, anti-war protesters took to the streets to voice concerns over the potential bloodshed from President Donald Trump’s military operation. Some carried signs saying, “No war for oil.”

Millions of Venezuelans have left the country in the more than a quarter-century the ruling Chavismo movement has been entrenched in power. Many arrived in the US and other countries in recent years, others left their homeland more than 20 years ago. For months, they have watched anxiously as socialist and oil-rich Venezuela’s long confrontation with the US escalated with the Trump administration conducting military exercises in the Caribbean and deadly airstrikes on boats from the South American country.

“We’re scared but hopeful,” said Venezuelan-American Marisela Lara, who lives in Miami. “Last night may have been the beginning of the end of a 30-year nightmare.”

“There’s too much uncertainty,” said Daniel Castillo, a Venezuelan American who lives in New York City.

Michael Shifter, a senior fellow on Latin America at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, said the people of Venezuela have much more on the line at this moment than the diaspora in the US.

“They have to live with the consequences of what happens,” he told CNN Saturday. “They may be relieved that Maduro is no longer in power. They’re certainly not confident that what comes next is going to be better.”

Hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump’s announcement that the US will “run the country” until a proper transition of power could be arranged contributed to the heightened anxiety and apprehension in Venezuela, Shifter said.

“They’re not very sure that what comes next is going to be orderly and smooth and is going to diminish their suffering,” he said.

Indeed, the smell of gunpowder from the US lightning military strike conducted to capture Maduro lingered early Saturday on the largely deserted streets of downtown Caracas. Some people ventured out in search of basic necessities only to find most businesses closed.

“I see a somewhat warlike atmosphere. Silence can say many things,” a driver from eastern Caracas told CNN, asking not to be identified for security reasons.

Some of Maduro’s opponents celebrated his departure from afar, playing music from their balconies, apparently fearing reprisals if they took to the streets. Groups of Maduro supporters ventured out in the vicinity of the presidential palace in a sign of solidarity.

“We are asking for the liberation of our president,” Maria Ayde told Reuters. “We’re going to be here fighting until they give us back Nicolas.”

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CNNE’s Osmary Hernández in Caracas and José Álvarez in México City contributed to this story.