{"id":147939,"date":"2026-02-08T09:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/147939\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T09:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:42:17","slug":"venezuelans-in-florida-begin-to-consider-returning-what-if-we-go-back-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/147939\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuelans in Florida begin to consider returning: \u2018What if we go back?\u2019 | International"},"content":{"rendered":"

In South Florida, home to most members of the Venezuelan diaspora<\/a> in the United States, a question that recently seemed unthinkable is now being asked: \u201cWhat if we go back?\u201d <\/p>\n

The capture of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a> on January 3, 2026, has shaken not only Venezuelan politics, but also the daily lives of thousands of migrants from that country who have embraced the United States as their permanent home. Now, almost a month after the fall of Maduro, for the first time in a long time, the idea of returning is beginning to feel like a real possibility, albeit one that\u2019s still fraught with uncertainty. <\/p>\n

Edgar Sim\u00f3n Rodr\u00edguez has been in the United States for seven years. He arrived after \u201cfleeing the Chavista regime\u201d \u2014 referring to the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) \u2014 and has since worked actively in the Venezuelan opposition from exile. He\u2019s the organizing coordinator for Vente Venezuela in the United States, the political party led by Mar\u00eda Corina Machado<\/a>. He didn\u2019t sleep a wink on the morning of January 3. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was notified at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. that they were bombing Caracas. I made myself coffee because I knew I wasn\u2019t going to sleep anymore,\u201d he recalls. In the middle of the night, he met with part of the political team. The news of Maduro\u2019s capture was, for him, \u201ca fundamental step\u201d that marks the beginning of a transition, which is \u201cstill fragile, but inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaduro\u2019s arrest is a key step. It marks the beginning of a process that must end in the complete liberation of the country,\u201d he affirms. However, he speaks cautiously. He knows that the transition will be complex and that the \u201crepressive apparatus of Chavismo\u201d remains active. That\u2019s why, even though his desire is to return to his home country, he hasn\u2019t set a date yet.<\/p>\n

\"ViviendasHousing in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 7, 2026.Matias Delacroix (AP)<\/p>\n

\u201cI would return without hesitation if the regime falls completely and the repressive agencies are dismantled. I\u2019m not thinking about [political] positions; I\u2019m thinking about a project to reinstitutionalize the country,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Jorge Andr\u00e9s Galicia, a 30-year-old Venezuelan lawyer, who has been in exile since 2018, shares a similar reflection. He lives in Miami and arrived in the United States alone, fleeing political persecution. For him, January 3 was a mixture of anguish, faith and hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received calls from my mother and my girlfriend, saying that they could hear bombings and planes flying over Caracas. I turned on the news and started praying to God,\u201d he recounts. When he saw Donald Trump\u2019s announcement confirming Maduro\u2019s capture, he found it hard to believe. \u201cWhen I confirmed it was true, I felt that we were finally witnessing an act of justice in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Galicia also wants to return, but not at any cost. \u201cAs long as people don\u2019t feel safe and there aren\u2019t real changes on the ground, I won\u2019t return. Venezuela still isn\u2019t a free country,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Chavismo in transition: the red line<\/p>\n

Despite feeling hopeful, both Sim\u00f3n and Galicia agree on a key point: so long as the Chavistas remain part of the power structure<\/a>, Venezuela won\u2019t be free.<\/p>\n

The U.S. is still committed to collaborating with the government of Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>, who became the interim president of the South American country following Maduro\u2019s capture. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the relationship between the U.S. and Rodr\u00edguez as \u201crespectful and productive,\u201d after warning that Washington is prepared to use force again in Venezuela if the acting president doesn\u2019t cooperate sufficiently.<\/p>\n

\"DelcyPresident of the National Assembly Jorge Rodr\u00edguez, Acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez and Minister of Interior Diosdado Cabello, in Caracas, on January 14, 2026.\u00a0Leonardo Fern\u00e1ndez Viloria (REUTERS)<\/p>\n

The United States\u2019 plan for Venezuela \u2014 which could be a process that takes years, according to the Trump administration \u2014 is divided into three phases: the first will focus on restoring the country\u2019s infrastructure, including the oil sector; the second, on bolstering economic activity; and, finally, the third will involve a transition to democratic elections. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, January 29, Venezuela\u2019s National Assembly unanimously approved a new hydrocarbons law<\/a>, thus opening the oil sector to privatization \u2014 a crucial initial step toward reform. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that there are phases in a transition, but we\u2019re concerned that it\u2019s slowing down. It involves human lives, political prisoners and families who are waiting,\u201d says Sim\u00f3n, who has already stated that he won\u2019t return until \u201cthe change is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Galicia maintains that \u201cuntil the Chavista regime is completely removed from institutions, Venezuela won\u2019t have a genuine democracy. I wouldn\u2019t return before then,\u201d he affirms, also ruling out any possibility of moving for the time being.<\/p>\n

Driven out by Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown<\/p>\n

Despite the climate of expectation, finding Venezuelans with concrete plans to return to their country isn\u2019t easy. Many prefer not to give their names to EL PA\u00cdS: the fear of reprisals still weighs heavily, even outside the country.<\/p>\n

At the Miami airport, Carlos (whose name has been changed) waits for his flight to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. From there, he will travel on to Venezuela. He carries a backpack, a small suitcase and a folder with documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was an engineer in Venezuela,\u201d he says in a low voice. \u201cHere, [in the U.S.], I\u2019ve done everything: Uber, plumbing, electrical work\u2026 whatever pops up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision to leave hasn\u2019t been easy. \u201cIt makes me very sad to leave the United States, because this country gave me an opportunity. But I no longer feel safe. I feel like I\u2019m being persecuted,\u201d he explains, while confessing that \u201cwhat\u2019s happening in Venezuela\u201d has been the deciding factor in making this decision.<\/p>\n

\"Deportaci\u00f3nDeportation of Venezuelan migrants to Caracas, in March of 2025.Associated Press\/LaPresse (APN)<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t all: U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s immigration policies also pushed him to leave. He was living legally in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which the White House canceled.<\/a> That\u2019s why, he admits, he has \u201cnothing left to do\u201d in this country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat day, January 3rd, I saw a glimmer of hope. I thought, \u2018If not now, when?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In Venezuela, he hopes to work on infrastructure reconstruction projects. He doesn\u2019t know how much he\u2019ll earn or what the adjustment will be like, but he says that he \u201cfeels at peace\u201d with his decision.<\/p>\n

Francisco, a 35-year-old man who also doesn\u2019t want to be identified by his real name, shares that same feeling. He arrived in the U.S. five years ago and became a father for the first time a few months ago. Even so, he plans to leave the country in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is no longer the country that welcomed me. I\u2019m grateful for everything, but I no longer feel safe,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Francisco \u2014 who acknowledges that \u201cif nothing had happened in Venezuela\u201d he probably would have stayed in the United States without documents \u2014 speaks of fear and uncertainty. But he also admits to feeling \u201ca sense of nostalgia that never went away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The debate about returning isn\u2019t just an emotional one. It\u2019s starting to be reflected in the South Florida real estate market. Gisela Rojas, from Venezuela, says that she experiences it \u201cdaily\u201d as head of the real estate company The Caissa Group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely an increase in inquiries,\u201d she explains. \u201cClients who bought years ago are now calling to sell or, at least, to find out how much their house is worth today, because they\u2019re considering leaving,\u201d she describes, emphasizing that \u201cthis isn\u2019t just a passing phenomenon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time in years, the idea of returning [to Venezuela] is no longer just a wish,\u201d she adds. \u201cFor many, it\u2019s starting to become a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> to get more English-language news coverage from EL PA\u00cdS USA Edition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In South Florida, home to most members of the Venezuelan diaspora in the United States, a question that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[54222,66218,409,28,30,29,5880,4389,4390],"class_list":{"0":"post-147939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-caracas","9":"tag-delcy-rodriguez","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-florida-headlines","13":"tag-florida-news","14":"tag-maria-corina-machado","15":"tag-nicolas-maduro","16":"tag-venezuela"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147939","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=147939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}