Venezuelans in Miami celebrate capture of Nicolás Maduro
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People showed out in "Doralzuela" for hours on Saturday. Photo: Martin Vassolo/Axios
Miami-Dade County's Venezuelan community celebrated the capture of president Nicolás Maduro with a day-long rally that drew hundreds on Saturday.
The big picture: Greater Miami is home to the largest Venezuelan diaspora in the U.S.
Driving the news: In Doral, nicknamed "Doralzuela" for its large Venezuelan population, police closed roads outside the restaurant El Arepazo as crowds waved flags, honked car horns and snapped group photos.
What they're saying: Elking Cadenas, a 49-year-old Venezuelan exile living in Doral, waved a Venezuelan flag he said he used during anti-government protests in the country in 2016 and 2017.
- "I had friends get shot," he tells Axios. "I have friends still in jail [following the protests]."
- Cadenas says it's comforting being able to take to the streets with his fellow Venezuelans without fear of government violence.
- "This is a day of celebration. You don't know the fighting, the tears, the blood that it has taken to liberate us. Thank you to President Donald Trump."
Naibeth Diaz, who left Venezuela for Miami eight years ago, tells Axios she's happy her home country would have a "change that Venezuelans have wanted for so long."
- "It's a joy so big it can't fit in your chest," she says, adding that she'd like to visit her country now that Maduro has been ousted.
Friction point: Following the Trump administration's ending of deportation protections for Venezuelans, Diaz says she hopes those living in Miami will be given the chance to stay and pursue their American dream.
- On Saturday, newly elected Miami mayor Eileen Higgins called on President Trump to reinstate Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan residents.
- "I said so then, and the instability unfolding in Venezuela today makes it even clearer that the country remains unsafe for people to return," Higgins said. "No one should be forced back into chaos and uncertainty."