Crowds of Venezuelans around the world took to the streets on Saturday and Sunday to celebrate the news that President Donald Trump had ordered an operation to arrest longtime socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, whose name has become synonymous with starvation, tortureAnd exile.
Early Saturday morning, President Trump announced that he had approved a special military operation to help the Justice Department arrest Maduro and his wife, “prime combatant” Cilia Flores, on a range of criminal charges in the United States. U.S. officials and law enforcement across Latin America have for years documented evidence that Maduro ran the Cartel de los Soles, an intercontinental cocaine trafficking operation run by the Venezuelan military. The cartel is named after the sun medallions that Venezuelan soldiers wear on their uniforms.
Maduro and Flores were reportedly detained at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas and quickly taken to New York, where they will face charges. The US government subsequently released footage of Maduro in New York. Attorney General Pam Bondi published The indictment states that Maduro faces charges including “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.”
News of Maduro's death, although his regime remained intact at the time of publication, sparked a wave of popular celebrations in major population centers where nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled socialism. Below are some of the most powerful images of Venezuelans speaking their minds with the freedom that Maduro has taken away from them at home.
One of the biggest celebrations took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the right-wing libertarian government of President Javier Miley enthusiastically applauded President Trump for his actions. In front of the Obelisk of Buenos Aires, the city's central square, Venezuelans gathered in their hundreds to sing and dance. The Obelisk itself was illuminated on Saturday evening with the colors of the Venezuelan flag in honor of Maduro's capture.
Aserezhe Dance Party
During some of the day's celebrations, a group of Venezuelans performed a coordinated dance to the song “Song about ketchup (Aserezha)“, a Spanish song that became an international hit in 2002.
Local news in Argentina highlighted that a small group of leftists attempted to organize a protest in support of Maduro, but were vastly outnumbered by dancing Venezuelans in the capital.
“I saw my friend eat dog”
The only Venezuelan to stop a pro-Maduro protest in Buenos Aires appeared on local network A24, strongly condemning the protest, recounting his experiences in the country and expressing bewildered outrage at the existence of Maduro defenders.
The man, identified on air as “Jonathan,” said he left Venezuela at age 18 “due to traumatic, terrible events.”
“The only thing people ate was mango,” he recalled. “I saw my friend eating dog, eating dogs there.”
“It's incredible, I don't know why there are people here with Venezuelan flags. Are they Venezuelans? Do you know what's happening in Venezuela?” he asked. “It's like when they have Cuban flags – do you know what's going on in Cuba?… Seriously, can you blame it – it's normal, you make it up, capitalism, all this, but it's incredible that this is happening, how can it be that these people here are defending a dictator who has helicoidlargest torture center in Latin America?
Miami Gas Station Party
Outside the Venezuelan restaurant El Arepazo in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Florida, crowds of Venezuelans began gathering before dawn to celebrate. El Arepazo is located in a gas station, providing a surreal backdrop to the celebration, which included dance circles and singing.
“We don't even know what to say,” one person told Miami publication Martí Noticias. “We have no words, we're just very happy, that's why we're here. How long, 20-something years, do we have with this crap? But until today.”
“It’s so nice to see this photo,” he continued, referring to the first published photo of Maduro in U.S. custody. “Maybe you see a little rage, a little anger, but we spent so many years in evil with this government that destroyed so many families, so we are in different countries.”
Venezuelans applaud former Maduro prisoner Jorge Ramos
Mexican journalist Jorge Ramos stopped by El Arepaso to interview those gathered later that day. An outspoken opponent of the Trump administration in the United States, Ramos has also consistently criticized Maduro, including to his face when he had the opportunity to interview the dictator in 2019. Maduro arrested Ramos and his team, claiming he asked inappropriate questions and only let them go after forcing them to delete the footage.
The crowd in Doral took a moment to express their gratitude to Ramos, hugging him and calling for freedom not only for Venezuela, but also for Cuba and Nicaragua, two other Marxist dictatorships in the region.
A man with a cane entered a Costa Rican basilica on his knees.
In a more subdued but moving incident at the Basilica of Los Angeles in Cartago, Costa Rica, worshipers watched as a man with a cane entered the basilica, draped in a Venezuelan flag, and approached the altar on his knees. According to local publication Acontecer, witnesses said the man was making a “gesture of gratitude for the capture of Nicolás Maduro.”
“What do you think the Russians and Chinese wanted, an arepa recipe?”
In another interview with local media in Argentina, the Venezuelan reveler condemned those who criticized Maduro's takeover, saying it was a plot to steal Venezuela's rich oil reserves.
“I ask them all [fellow Venezuelans] have faith, don't let them get in your head gringo I just want your oil gringo I just want your wealth,” he offered. “I ask these people: what do they think the Russians and Chinese wanted after all this time, an arepa recipe?”
The Chinese Communist Party and the Russian government have been Maduro's two closest geopolitical allies. China, in particular, benefited significantly from this accession through the purchase of sanctioned oil from Caracas. Maduro made several financial deals with the Chinese that would allow him to repay loans with oil.
Trump lookalike dances at the YMCA in Medellin
Another popular video of Saturday's celebrations appeared at the Park of Lights in Medellin, Colombia. There, too, a crowd of dancing Venezuelans gathered, greeted by a man dressed as President Trump, dancing to the Village People's hit “YMCA,” known as one of Trump's favorite songs.
Venezuelans clean up the streets after a party
In Santiago, Chile, local store T13 walked through streets previously filled with hundreds of dancing Venezuelans on Sunday and found a small group of Venezuelans with washers and trash bags cleaning up trash and other debris left behind by the crowd. Venezuelans told the TV channel that this is their way of giving back to the country that accepted them.
