{"id":104776,"date":"2026-01-04T00:01:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T00:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/104776\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T00:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T00:01:16","slug":"nicolas-maduros-capture-by-us-met-with-celebrations-in-south-florida-and-apprehension-in-caracas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/104776\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s capture by US met with celebrations in South Florida and apprehension in Caracas"},"content":{"rendered":"

After word spread early Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a> 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\u2019s Venezuelan community.<\/p>\n

In Venezuela, however, the reaction to Maduro\u2019s ouster was much more subdued, with footage from the nation\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, affectionately known as \u201cDoralzuela,\u201d the celebrations over Maduro\u2019s capture began in the predawn hours.<\/p>\n

Throughout the day, the impromptu gathering was marked by the singing of Venezuela\u2019s national anthem, chants of \u201cLiberty!\u201d and tears of joy flowing from the eyes of people waving yellow, blue and red Venezuelan flags. Some carried signs that read, \u201cMake Venezuela Great Again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Crowds<\/p>\n

Crowds celebrate in Doral, Florida, after Venezuela president’s capture – CNN<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustice is being served for all the Venezuelans who left our country,\u201d Kirvin Suarez told Reuters outside the restaurant.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s military operation. Some carried signs saying, \u201cNo war for oil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Millions of Venezuelans<\/a> 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\u2019s long confrontation with the US escalated with the Trump administration conducting military exercises in the Caribbean and deadly airstrikes on boats<\/a> from the South American country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re scared but hopeful,\u201d said Venezuelan-American Marisela Lara, who lives in Miami. \u201cLast night may have been the beginning of the end of a 30-year nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s too much uncertainty,\u201d said Daniel Castillo, a Venezuelan American who lives in New York City.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A little girl holds a Venezuela flag during celebrations in Doral, Florida, Saturday after Venezuela president’s capture – CNN<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have to live with the consequences of what happens,\u201d he told CNN Saturday. \u201cThey may be relieved that Maduro is no longer in power. They\u2019re certainly not confident that what comes next is going to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours after Maduro\u2019s capture, Trump\u2019s announcement that the US will \u201crun the country\u201d until a proper transition of power could be arranged contributed to the heightened anxiety and apprehension in Venezuela, Shifter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not very sure that what comes next is going to be orderly and smooth and is going to diminish their suffering,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Crowds<\/p>\n

Crowds celebrate at a gas station in Doral, Florida, Saturday after Venezuela president’s capture – CNN<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see a somewhat warlike atmosphere. Silence can say many things,\u201d a driver from eastern Caracas told CNN, asking not to be identified for security reasons.<\/p>\n

Some of Maduro\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are asking for the liberation of our president,\u201d Maria Ayde told Reuters. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be here fighting until they give us back Nicolas.\u201d<\/p>\n

CNNE\u2019s Osmary Hern\u00e1ndez in Caracas and Jos\u00e9 \u00c1lvarez in M\u00e9xico City contributed to this story.<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After word spread early Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12639,54222,54224,14180,28,30,29,4389,807,4390,54223,54121],"class_list":["post-104776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-capture","tag-caracas","tag-desolate-streets","tag-doral","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-south-florida","tag-venezuela","tag-venezuelan-immigrants","tag-venezuelan-president"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}