Following the arrest and removal of the long-ruling dictator Maduro in Venezuela by the United States, the Venezuelan immigrant community in the Roosevelt Avenue area of Queens, New York, known as “Little Caracas,” has been filled with cheers, tears, and long-suppressed emotions in recent days. For many residents who have been exiled in the United States for years, this is not just international news but a historic moment that could change their destinies.
According to the New York Post, 41-year-old car salesman Gonzalez fled his homeland in 2015 due to his opposition to the Maduro regime and a search for better economic opportunities. He has been living in the United States for nearly a decade now. “We have been waiting for this day for over 26 years,” he said. On the day the news broke, his mother who still remains in Venezuela called him, crying and telling him that this was a “day full of hope.”
Nineteen-year-old Flores works as a waiter at a café on Roosevelt Avenue. He recalled that last Saturday (January 3rd), about 50 people gathered spontaneously inside and outside the restaurant, with music, dance, and cheers blending together to create a festive atmosphere. “That day felt like a party, everyone celebrating together,” Flores said. He arrived in the U.S. three years ago and currently resides in Jackson Heights, while his 60-year-old grandmother remains in Venezuela. Flores said, “We finally see the possibility of freedom, and at this moment, we have been waiting for 26 years.”
According to details released by the U.S., 63-year-old Maduro and his 69-year-old wife Celia Flores were arrested in a U.S. military operation last Friday night. Around 10:46 pm, the U.S. President gave the final order, and shortly after, U.S. military personnel, using helicopters, amphibious assault ships, and military aircraft, transported the couple via the Caribbean Sea to Guantanamo Bay for brief detention before being transferred to New York.
Federal prosecutors have charged in the indictment that Maduro led a “corrupt and illegal government” that had abused national power for decades, sheltering and facilitating transnational criminal activities including drug trafficking. The prosecution stated that by 2020, the related organizations were suspected of smuggling over 250 tons of cocaine into the United States and colluding with violent drug traffickers and “drug terrorism.”
Currently, Maduro and Flores are detained at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and appeared for trial for the first time in the Southern District Federal Court in New York on Monday (January 5th). The residents of “Little Caracas” await the verification of the trial’s outcome, but at this moment, exiled for years, they believe that history is truly turning its pages.