Celebrations filled the streets of Doral hours after President Trump announced the U.S. launched strikes in Venezuela and captured the country’s leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Since 4 a.m. Saturday, dozens of Venezuelans and supporters gathered at El Arepazo, a popular restaurant in Doral. The city is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S.
People were donned in the colors of the Venezuela flag, and others were banging pots and pans, while some popped champagne bottles.
NBC6 spoke with several people celebrating at El Arepazo about what this moment means to them.
“I have no words. I don’t know how to explain it,” one man explained.
Another man said he was hopeful for the future of Venezuela, saying “I’m very excited…We are celebrating. Thanks to President Trump and the U.S. military for this perfect operation.”
“I started crying. I’ve seen my dad cry three times in my life: his dad dying, Fidel dying and today…It’s historic,” said a woman who brought her friend along to the street celebration.
Dozens of Venezuelans celebrated in Doral after the U.S. announced it captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife Saturday.
Several South Florida community leaders also reacted to the attack on Venezuela and Maduro’s capture:
U.S. Representative Carlos Gimenez released a statement that read in part quote: “I have just spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and I can say with absolute confidence: today’s decisive action is this hemisphere’s equivalent of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. It marks the beginning of the end for narco-terrorist regimes that have terrorized their people, flooded our communities with deadly drugs, and destabilized the Americas.”
U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz reacted to the attack with the following statement:
“The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuela’s people is welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled his violent, lawless, and disastrous rule. However, cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows. Venezuelans deserve the promise of democracy and the rule of law, not a state of endless violence and spiraling disorder. My hope is it offers a passage to true democracy and liberation.”
Former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez posted a statement on X that read in part quote: “For families like mine who fled communism in search of freedom, this is a moment decades in the making. It offers hope to millions who have suffered under authoritarian rule in our hemisphere.”
Trump: Maduro and his wife have been “captured and flown out the country”