Venezuelans gathered at Brewster Street Icehouse on the South Side to celebrate a historic moment they say they’ve been waiting for a very long time.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Venezuelan community is celebrating what they call the liberation of their nation following U.S. strikes and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday morning.

“I think this is just the beginning. It’s not going to take one day,” said Dr. Jesus Gomez, a Venezuelan American.

Gomez was born in Venezuela but made the difficult decision to leave nearly 27 years ago.

“There has been an exodus of more than 9 million Venezuelans around the world in the last 25 years,” Gomez said.

He says it’s a relief to see his country turning a corner, with hope replacing years of suffering.

“You realize how people have been suffering slowly — the oppression of the legal structure and legal system. Thousands of people have been killed,” Gomez said. “There are many political prisoners and a lot of political persecution for no reason, just because they want to stay in power.”

Joanne Guastaferro grew up in Venezuela and worked as a doctor but left the country for her safety.

“We’ve been waiting for this after years of living under a dictatorship — the way they managed the country, the hospitals, the poverty, people dying of hunger,” Guastaferro said. “This is happiness for a lot of people. We’re not here to analyze politics, just to be happy this could be the beginning of the end of a terrible era for Venezuela.”

The moment is also impacting younger generations, including Catalina and Joaquin Garza.

“It’s so heartwarming that we can finally be free and go back to peace and harmony and eventually return to our country,” Catalina said. “I’m excited because I’ve never been there.”

Guastaferro said she knows the country faces a long recovery but believes Venezuela will overcome it.

“Venezuela has all the potential in the world. It’s a beautiful country full of minerals and oil,” she said. “There is no reason for Venezuela to be poor or for anyone to die of hunger. What we want is progress, education for everyone and peace.”