{"id":105414,"date":"2026-01-04T18:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/105414\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T18:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T18:42:12","slug":"florida-reactions-mixed-after-capture-of-venezuelas-nicolas-maduro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/105414\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida reactions mixed after capture of Venezuela\u2019s Nicol\u00e1s Maduro"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Locals <\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – Celebrations erupted Saturday in South Florida following news of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. In Doral, home to one of the largest Venezuelan populations in the U.S., crowds gathered to cheer, dance and celebrate what many see as a long-awaited moment.<\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

Some Florida <\/a>lawmakers praised the operation and President Donald Trump\u2019s role in it. Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Steube called Trump “one of the most consequential leaders in our nation\u2019s history” in a post on X.<\/p>\n

MORE NEWS: Trump claims US will ‘run’ Venezuela after Maduro captured<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor released a statement, calling the attack unauthorized and raising concerns about U.S. military involvement.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Robert Burrell, a senior research fellow at the University of South Florida\u2019s Global and National Security Institute, described the operation as a potential turning point for Venezuela.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Burrell noted the mission appeared to face little resistance and resulted in no reported U.S. casualties, which he said could signal fractures within Venezuela\u2019s military leadership.<\/p>\n

He also pointed to Venezuela\u2019s long-standing political and humanitarian crisis, saying the country ranks among the most corrupt in the world and has experienced one of the largest mass migrations globally, with an estimated 8 million people fleeing in recent years.<\/p>\n

The other side:<\/p>\n

Opposition to the operation was also visible locally. About 30 demonstrators gathered outside Tampa <\/a>City Hall during a rainy Saturday afternoon, holding signs calling on the U.S. to “keep its hands off Latin America” and condemning military intervention.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Why you should care:<\/p>\n

Experts say Venezuela\u2019s instability has had ripple effects across Latin America and the U.S., fueling mass migration and regional insecurity. Burrell said the capture of Maduro could open the door to rebuilding democratic institutions and, potentially, a future where Venezuelans who fled the country may return.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Burrell emphasized that the future of Venezuela now depends heavily on international support, particularly from the U.S., to help stabilize the country and guide it toward democracy and economic recovery.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration announced temporary airspace closures in parts of the Caribbean. At Tampa International Airport<\/a>, six departures and six arrivals to and from San Juan were canceled out of more than 600 total flights Saturday. It remains unclear how long the closures will last.<\/p>\n

The Source: This article is based on reporting from FOX 13, including on-the-ground reaction in Florida, statements from local members of Congress, and expert analysis from Robert Burrell of the University of South Florida\u2019s Global and National Security Institute, along with information from TPA regarding flight impacts.<\/p>\n

Florida<\/a>Politics<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. – Celebrations erupted Saturday in South Florida following news of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[47,28,30,29,115,99,628],"class_list":["post-105414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105414","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=105414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}