EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Venezuelans living in El Paso are celebrating the news that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured after a U.S. military strike early Saturday morning, Jan. 3.
What we know about a US strike that captured Venezuela’s Maduro
Hours later, Maduro and his wife arrived by plane in New York, where they will be facing cocaine importation conspiracy charges and other counts in a new indictment.
Maduro, wife face new indictment: What we know about the case
William Rodríguez, who has lived in El Paso for eight years, said he migrated to the U.S. in 2019 to flee from political persecution. Rodríguez, who graduated as a lawyer from Central University of Venezuela, said the news of Maduro being captured feels like a dream became a reality.
William Rodriguez. Photo taken by Edith Montero/KTSM
“This news is what all of us Venezuelans have waited for, for over 20 years. This nightmare started with Hugo Chávez Frías (former president of Venezuela), and today, we see this dream become a reality,” Rodríguez said in Spanish.
Rodríguez said his family and friends back in Venezuela were sending him videos of the explosion and the helicopters, and asking if it was true or manipulated by artificial intelligence. He reassured them, telling them that the videos were real, and he later saw in the news that Maduro was captured.
“The truth is that I believe there are political reasons, perhaps even economic reasons, the important thing is that a big step was taken by the president of the United States, whom we should be thankful for. This was an extraction mission; the damage done was only made in strategic places of the government. There was no damage for civilians. I think that was the intention of the president of the United States,” Rodríguez said.
Fernando Alio — who was born in Venezuela and has lived in El Paso for 10 years — and his family were showing off the Venezuelan flag and cheering after the news of Maduro’s capture.
Fernando Alio (left) with his wife and children. Photo taken by Edith Montero/KTSM
“I need to say very thank you, thank you, thank you to the U.S. government. Thank you so much. This is the opportunity for a show for my kids, my country. These guys (his family) never go and visit my country because they have a lot of problems. It’s very, very bad government in Venezuela,” Alio said.
Alio also adds that maybe the U.S. wants to take advantage of Venezuela’s oil, but this negotiation feels different.
“But it’s this negotiation is not different right now. It’s 40 years ago, 50 years ago, it started a negotiations with the petroleum. All the companies and all the infrastructure from the petroleum in Venezuela is from USA,” Alio said. “But I don’t have any problem with the payment from this equation. It’s the petroleum. In my person, I don’t have any problem. For me it’s OK. Venezuela has a lot.”
Gabriel Garcia, who has been in El Paso for nearly 20 years, says he’s excited for the change that’s to come to the Venezuelan government.
Gabriel Garcia. Photo taken by Edith Montero/KTSM
“Well, as a Venezuelan, I’m very excited at the prospect of change in the Venezuelan government. It’s been a long time since we’ve had true democracy in the country and I’m excited to see what’s going to, 2026 and beyond, going to bring for Venezuela and the Venezuelan people,” Garcia said.
“I think that there’s obviously some benefits that are going to come out of a regime change in Venezuela. There are going to be maybe closer ties with the U.S., including economic ties. But I think that overall there’s a net positive for the Venezuelan people,” Garcia said.
Angel Ortiz, a born-and-raised El Pasoan, says he has been pastoring across multiple countries for the past 27 years. He said during this time, he’s met a lot of Venezuelans who said they are leaving their country in hopes of something better.
Angel Ortiz. Photo taken by Edith Montero/KTSM
All the Venezuelans that Ortiz has met and kept in touch with sent him videos and news articles about Maduro’s capture. He said you can feel the optimism and hopefulness through the messages.
“You know, we’ve (U.S.) always helped all over the world and there’s reasons why people, every president gets involved. There’s their own, their political, whatever political gains there are, but I think whether he’s (Trump) doing it for his own gains or his own reasons, it’s still going to be very helpful for the people. Because at the end of the day, the people are what’s affected, and just by taking out a dictator like Maduro, it’s going to give people, it’s going to empower people to maybe even want to rise up on their own and say, ‘You know what? Let’s change our government. Let’s change what’s happening here.’ And whether he gets it for his gain or not, it’s going to be a very, very positive for the people,” Ortiz said.
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