{"id":92593,"date":"2026-01-07T18:05:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/92593\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T18:05:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:05:55","slug":"queens-electeds-venezuelan-community-share-mixed-reactions-to-maduro-arrest-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/92593\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens electeds, Venezuelan community share mixed reactions to Maduro arrest \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elected officials and Venezuelans across Queens have offered mixed reactions to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, who was arraigned<\/a> on U.S.-issued narco-terror charges in New York on Monday.<\/p>\n

Venezuelan New Yorkers gathered outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan on Jan. 5, with many people singing, crying and smiling as Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores faced charges of narcotics trafficking and machine gun possession.<\/p>\n

Maduro and Flores pleaded not-guilty to the charges during their arraignment on Monday, with Maduro alleging that he had been \u201ckidnapped\u201d by US forces.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI am innocent. I am not guilty of anything mentioned here,\u201d Maduro said in court. \u201cI am a decent man.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Maduro and Flores were arrested Jan. 3 after U.S. forces invaded Venezuela and seized the couple in their home in a military base in Caracas, an unprecedented move that caused shockwaves across the international community.<\/p>\n

It was the nature of that arrest which caused elected officials across Queens to react with mixed emotions to Maduro\u2019s capture.\n<\/p>\n

Assemblymember Jessica Gonz\u00e1lez-Rojas, for example, described the arrest of Maduro as \u201ctoppling a dictator\u201d but added that it is \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d that President Donald Trump had allegedly violated international law.<\/p>\n

Russia, China and other Venezuelan allies have accused the United States of violating international law, but Trump has insisted that the capture of Maduro was legal because the U.S. is an \u201carmed conflict\u201d with Venezuelan drug cartels, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Gonz\u00e1lez-Rojas, however, said the operation sets a \u201cterrible precedent,\u201d noting that Trump had placed Colombia on notice a day after capturing Maduro.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe illegal and unauthorized actions of the President are deeply concerning,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez-Rojas said. \u201cWe should definitely be very, very cautious about what\u2019s happening and how the President proceeds next. He\u2019s already looking at other countries to take over, and I think this is a terrible precedent.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we have to acknowledge that this is very complicated for Venezuelans living here in New York and across the country, as well as those that are back home.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Rosa Maria Bramble Caballero, the founder of Woodside non-profit the Venezuelan Alliance for Community Support<\/a>, described Maduro\u2019s arrest as a \u201cquiet victory\u201d for Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Cabellero, a social worker who specializes in migration trauma, said Maduro\u2019s arrest represented \u201cone step toward democracy,\u201d describing Maduro as someone who has violated human rights during his 15 years in power through political retribution and repression of the freedom of expression. However, she cautioned that \u201cwhat comes next\u201d is equally as important as Maduro\u2019s capture.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not enough to just take one person down when there is a full regime in place,\u201d Caballero said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing in the past 48 hours that tell us otherwise\u2026 it still feels to us like the regime continues in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caballero added that there is still a \u201clot of fear\u201d among Venezuelan communities at home and abroad despite Maduro\u2019s arrest and voiced concerns that Venezuelans remain in danger of political retribution.<\/p>\n

She called on the U.S. to facilitate fair elections in Venezuela by acing as an independent witness and expressed disappointment that the Maduro regime remained in power three days after the President was captured by U.S. forces. However, she did not criticize the Trump Administration for potentially violating international law during the operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustice has been served,\u201d Caballero said. \u201cThere\u2019s still political prisoners in Venezuela simply because they\u2019re in opposition\u2026 something needed to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a stretch of Roosevelt Avenue known as \u201cLittle Caracas,\u201d members of the Venezuelan community in Queens also expressed relief that Maduro had been apprehended but worry about the future of the country.<\/p>\n

Aaron Barrios, a 17-year-old Venezuelan native now living in Jackson Heights<\/a>, said Tuesday that Venezuelans were happy following Maduro\u2019s arrest but added that Venezuelans are now praying for peace.<\/p>\n

Barrios said he left Venezuela when he was 11 years old because there was \u201cno food at home.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost all of my family left,\u201d Barrios said. \u201cThey are in different countries because of the situation.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Venezuelans, we\u2019re happy that Maduro has been captured, but we also worry about what\u2019s going to happen next with our country,\u201d he added. \u201cWe just ask for peace and freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rashell Cabarcas, who arrived in New York in 2023 after leaving Venezuela, similarly said Venezuelans are \u201chappy\u201d after Maduro was arrested.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI left (Venezuela) because of the situation,\u201d Cabarcas said. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t go out to protest. We\u2019d be arrested.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Some elected officials in Queens criticized the Trump Administration for the attack on Venezuela, including Astoria Council Member Tiffany Cab\u00e1n, who described the action as an \u201cillegal, unconstitutional and unprovoked act of war.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis attack was for oil and power. To distract from the Epstein files and the Trump Administration\u2019s assault on democracy. And it violated international law,\u201d Cab\u00e1n said in a post on X.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez similarly alleged that Maduro\u2019s arrest was about control of Venezuela\u2019s oil reserves rather than narco-terrorism. Ocasio-Cortez also referenced Trump\u2019s decision to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez in December while Hernandez was serving a 45-year sentence on cocaine distribution charges.<\/p>\n

She added that Maduro\u2019s trial offers Trump a distraction from criticism over release of the Epstein files.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about drugs,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. \u201cIf it was, Trump wouldn\u2019t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn\u2019t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

However, other elected officials welcomed news that Maduro had been detained after running what is widely described as an authoritarian regime marked by alleged extrajudicial killings and political imprisonment.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

State Sen. Jessica Ramos said in a post on social media that she stands with the Venezuelan community in Jackson Heights that had long championed \u201cpeace, democracy and human rights.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Venezuelan community here has never stopped advocating for a free and democratic future for their country. I stand with them and remain committed to supporting the Venezuelan people,\u201d Ramos said on social media.<\/p>\n

Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar said Maduro\u2019s arrest represents an opportunity for Venezuelan people to begin the \u201cdifficult work\u201d of national renewal and democratic restoration.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Venezuelan constituents approach this moment with cautious hope,\u201d Rajkumar said in a statement. \u201cFor years, they have witnessed their homeland endure profound suffering under a government that dismantled democratic institutions, hollowed out the economy, and drove millions into hunger, poverty, and displacement. The consequences of this instability have extended well beyond Venezuela\u2019s borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rajkumar also called on the United States to be \u201cclear and consistent\u201d in its role in Venezuela and to support democracy \u201cfor and by the Venezuelan people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cNot through force or unilateral intervention, but through principled diplomacy, humanitarian assistance,and close coordination with international partners. Any action that risks military escalation must be transparent and authorized by Congress,\u201d Rajkumar continued. \u201cLasting democracy cannot be imposed from the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elected officials and Venezuelans across Queens have offered mixed reactions to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[878,40974,22824,33947,33948,153,860,43776,43777,9,24,15862,63,122,124,123,7318],"class_list":["post-92593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-alexandria-ocasio-cortez","tag-am-jenifer-rajkumar","tag-aoc","tag-assembly-member-jessica-gonzu00e1lez-rojas","tag-astoria-councilwoman-tiffany-cabu00e1n","tag-donald-trump","tag-jessica-ramos","tag-little-caracas","tag-maduro-arrest","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-venezuela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}