International students are encouraged to visit the UCF Global offices for support and resources, especially in times of turmoil for their home countries. Students can visit Student Care Services or CAPS for help and more information.
John Warner
Following the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by United States forces about a month ago, students at UCF said they are concerned about the future of their native country.
These concerns include the country not having any clear plan in place for who the next leader will be, how much they will be affiliated with Maduro and how the U.S. will be involved with Venezuelan affairs.
Dario Arria, a senior media production and management student, immigrated to the United States when he was 18. He said that there is much uncertainty for himself, his family and the Venezuelan people right now.
Arria said that even though he was happy that Maduro was captured, there are still many issues.
“It doesn’t fix that people are starving, there is no medicine in Venezuela, that the public services don’t work like water, electricity, and transport,” Arria said.
Arria also said that he was very conflicted when he first heard the news of Maduro’s capture.
“At first, I thought the videos were old, like from a few months or even years ago,” Arria said. “I was confused. I didn’t know what to believe because in Venezuela, so much stuff happens that you never know what is real.”
Arria explained that the Venezuelan government keeps a close eye on what is said and allowed to be broadcast in the country.
“If you say something wrong, you go and get in trouble with the national police or army. It’s been like this for the last 20 years,” Arria said.
He said that it is why many people appeared to be in support of Maduro. The government often forces federal employees to publicly support their officials, he added.
“The government makes many of the government employees support the leaders in protests, online and on social media,” Arria explained.
Dr. Aubrey Jewett, associate director of the School of Politics, Security and International Affairs at UCF, said that the pathway forward for Venezuela and the United States is still filled with uncertainty.
“The situation is still fluid down there in terms of who in the long-term is going to run the country, and how much, if at all, the United States will have authority over how they’re running their country,” Jewett said.
Jewett said he believes that the United States’ primary motivator in the Venezuelan intervention is to gain control over the country’s oil industry.
“Trump has announced several different motives for this,” Jewett said. “The drug trafficking motive, the oil motive, but he hasn’t really stressed too much about installing a government that’s freely elected by Venezuelans that will do right by Venezuela.”
Jewett said this has caused some worry for Venezuelans.
“I think the initial elation that a lot of Venezuelans felt when Maduro was removed has been replaced by anxiety because the United States has been unclear about what they’re going to allow or not allow in terms of politics,” he said.
Some Venezuelan students said they are still nervous about speaking out against their home government. One student requested not to share their name, in fear of retaliation against their family back home in Venezuela.
However, the student said he shared Arria’s concerns about the future of the country.
“I try not to think about it too much, but I definitely worry not only about my country, but my family who still lives there,” the student said. “There is the chance that a lot can go wrong for them.”
Venezuelan students at UCF, along with other students with conflicts in their home countries, have resources available to them on campus.
“UCF supports students who may be affected by events in their home countries and encourages them to use support resources on campus,” Margot Winnick, director of communications, said. “All students can call upon resources such as Student Care Services and CAPS, and be connected to additional services as needed.”
Arria said he remains optimistic for the future of Venezuela, and that he hopes the country can soon return to its former wealth and way of living.
“People don’t realize this, but we used to be one of the richest countries in the world because of our oil until Maduro came to power,” Arria said. “Everything we had was great, we had some of the best services for our people, and I hope we can get back to that now for my country.”