LIVING HERE IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. WE HAVE GOTTEN MIXED REACTIONS TO THIS. SOME PEOPLE IN PITTSBURGH PROTESTED THE ACTION, WHILE OTHER PITTSBURGHERS WHO MOVED HERE FROM VENEZUELA TELL US THEY CRIED TEARS OF JOY SATURDAY MORNING. EVEN THANKING PRESIDENT TRUMP. I FEEL HAPPY BECAUSE MADURO IS IN THE JAIL. HE’S. CONTRERAS EMIGRATED FROM VENEZUELA TO PITTSBURGH THREE YEARS AGO, JOINING HIS BROTHER AND SISTER IN LAW, WHO HAD COME HERE THREE YEARS PRIOR. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE. I FEEL UNSAFE THE WHOLE TIME WHEN I WAS WITH MY WHEN I HAVE MY FIRST BABY OVER BACK IN VENEZUELA, I FEEL THE WHOLE TIME ANXIOUS AND SCARED TO BE THERE BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF REPERCUSSION. IF YOU ARE AGAINST THE. MADURO. THE FAMILY TELLS PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR THEY ARE ANXIOUS BUT HOPEFUL FOR THE FUTURE, AND THAT MILITARY ACTION WAS THE ONLY WAY TO HELP THE VENEZUELAN STILL LIVING THERE. THAT THEY SAY HAVE NO WAY TO HELP THEM THEMSELVES. WE’LL PRAY FOR VENEZUELA. WE’LL HOPE EVERYTHING GOES WELL, AND THEN WE CAN TRANSITION TOWARDS LIKE A BETTER STATE FOR EVERYONE AT THE SAME TIME. SATURDAY AFTERNOON, OVER 100 PEOPLE GATHERED IN PITTSBURGH’S EAST LIBERTY NEIGHBORHOOD TO PROTEST BOTH THE INVASION AND ARREST. NO MORE COUPS, NO MORE WARS. LATIN AMERICA ISN’T YOURS. THEY CARRIED SIGNS WITH ANTI-TRUMP AND ANTI-WAR SENTIMENTS, SAYING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DON’T WANT ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT. THEY’RE AGAINST THE IDEA THAT TRUMP WANTS TO RUN VENEZUELA FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, THAT IT’S UP TO PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES TO DECIDE THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FUTURE OF VENEZUELA, WHEN THAT SHOULD BE THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA’S DECISION THEMSELVES. THE MAIN QUESTION THAT BOTH THE PROTESTERS AND THE HERMOSO FAMILY HAD WAS, WHAT DOES THE U.S. RUNNING VENEZUELA LOOK LIKE IN T
Local Venezuelans celebrate arrest of Maduro, while protests form in Pittsburgh
Updated: 4:20 PM EST Jan 4, 2026
Reactions across Pittsburgh were divided following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Some residents protested the action, while others who emigrated from Venezuela said they cried tears of joy and even thanked President Donald Trump.“I feel happy because Maduro is in jail,” said Jesus Contreras, who moved to Pittsburgh three years ago.Contreras emigrated from Venezuela to Pittsburgh to join his brother, Luis, and sister-in-law Marialejandra Contreras, who came three years earlier. “It was a nightmare,” Contreras said. “I feel unsafe the whole time when I was with my — when I had my first baby back in Venezuela. I feel the whole time anxious and scared to be there because there is a lot of repercussions if you are against Maduro.”The family told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 they are anxious but hopeful for the future and believe military action was the only way to help Venezuelans still living in the country, who they say have no way to help themselves. “We’ll pray for Venezuela, will hope everything goes well, and then we can transition toward like a better state for everyone,” Luis Hermoso said.At the same time, Saturday afternoon, more than 100 people gathered in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood to protest both the invasion and Maduro’s arrest.“No more coups, no more wars. Latin America isn’t yours. Latin America isn’t yours,” demonstrators chanted.Protesters carried signs with anti-Trump and anti-war messages, saying Americans do not want another international conflict. “They’re against the idea that Trump wants to run Venezuela from the White House — that it’s up to people in the United States to decide the political and economic future of Venezuela, when that should be the people of Venezuela’s decision themselves,” June Wearden, one of the protest organizers, said.Both the Hermoso family and demonstrators asked what a U.S.-led future for Venezuela will look like in the days ahead.VIEW OUR RELATED COVERAGE ABOVE: Looking for more news in your area | Subscribe to the WTAE YouTube Channel
PITTSBURGH —
Reactions across Pittsburgh were divided following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Some residents protested the action, while others who emigrated from Venezuela said they cried tears of joy and even thanked President Donald Trump.
“I feel happy because Maduro is in jail,” said Jesus Contreras, who moved to Pittsburgh three years ago.
Contreras emigrated from Venezuela to Pittsburgh to join his brother, Luis, and sister-in-law Marialejandra Contreras, who came three years earlier.
“It was a nightmare,” Contreras said. “I feel unsafe the whole time when I was with my — when I had my first baby back in Venezuela. I feel the whole time anxious and scared to be there because there is a lot of repercussions if you are against Maduro.”
The family told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 they are anxious but hopeful for the future and believe military action was the only way to help Venezuelans still living in the country, who they say have no way to help themselves.
“We’ll pray for Venezuela, will hope everything goes well, and then we can transition toward like a better state for everyone,” Luis Hermoso said.
At the same time, Saturday afternoon, more than 100 people gathered in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood to protest both the invasion and Maduro’s arrest.
“No more coups, no more wars. Latin America isn’t yours. Latin America isn’t yours,” demonstrators chanted.
Protesters carried signs with anti-Trump and anti-war messages, saying Americans do not want another international conflict.
“They’re against the idea that Trump wants to run Venezuela from the White House — that it’s up to people in the United States to decide the political and economic future of Venezuela, when that should be the people of Venezuela’s decision themselves,” June Wearden, one of the protest organizers, said.
Both the Hermoso family and demonstrators asked what a U.S.-led future for Venezuela will look like in the days ahead.
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