EL PASO, Texas – (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Venezuelans in El Paso are celebrating the U.S. capture of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, marking a day they thought they might never see. <\/p>\n
Juan Martinez, owner of Arepa’s Food Truck in Far East El Paso, expressed the community’s joy. <\/p>\n
“A Venezuelan would never feel happy about someone else’s misfortune, but the feeling of happiness we feel today is incredible, because our country is somehow breathing the air of freedom today,” he said.<\/p>\n
RELATED: El Paso leaders react to capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro<\/a><\/p>\n Martinez and his family, who fled Venezuela 10 years ago, opened their food truck to celebrate with food, family, and music. <\/p>\n “The future of Venezuela is truly based on justice,” Martinez said. <\/p>\n “What happened last night is proof that there can be justice with the help of the international community, because Venezuelans alone could no longer do it.”<\/p>\n His brother, Juan Luis Martinez Mendoza, recounted the moment he learned of Maduro’s capture. <\/p>\n “Yes, I was sleeping. And suddenly, I don’t know, a sixth sense tells me, hey, open your eyes, check your phone. When I see all the messages, I see the barrage of messages and I see everything, and I say, no, this can’t be true. And my brother tells me, ‘Brother, they’ve already dragged him out by his hair.'”<\/p>\n Yara Gamboa, another local Venezuelan, shared her excitement about the possibility of returning to her homeland. <\/p>\n “We are happy and hopeful that we will soon be able to return to our homeland, that our land will finally be liberated, and that there will be a peaceful transition,” she said.<\/p>\n Martinez hopes the U.S. justice system will hold Maduro accountable for all Venezuelans who had to leave their country.<\/p>\n RELATED: ‘What happened to Maduro can happen to them’: Trump issues warning to other nations<\/a><\/p>\n