Name: Venezuelans in South Florida react with joy over Maduros capture
Uploaded: 2026-01-03T22:11:45.226Z
Duration: 4 min 41 s
Description: Venezuelans in South Florida are rejoicing after a U.S. military operation led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife. CBS News Miami reporter Steve Maugeri has more.

Venezuelans in South Florida are rejoicing after a U.S. military operation led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife. CBS News Miami reporter Steve Maugeri has more.

Miami

The U.S has launched strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities in a campaign against the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

Venezuela Strikes

Venezuelans in South Florida, particularly in Miami and Doral, gathered in large numbers to celebrate the news of Nicolás Maduro's capture and removal from Venezuela. The area, home to the largest Venezuelan population in the United States, saw jubilant scenes with people singing national anthems, dancing, and expressing relief.

Many community members described Maduro's ousting as a significant step toward democracy and a momentous day for Venezuela. Interviewees emphasized the importance of a proper transition to a new government and noted that the event has given renewed hope to families separated by years of political unrest.

Venezuelans in South Florida react with joy over Maduro's capture

People are celebrating in South Florida today, as Venezuelans in Miami and nearby Doral are celebrating Majuro's capture. Let's go to CBS News Miami reporter Steve Magiri. He joins us now from Doral, where he's been covering the reaction today. Steve, what are you hearing? We've been seeing people gathering here at this gas station in Doral since as early as five this morning here. For our viewers to know that Doral, Florida has the largest Venezuelan population in the country. Estimates have been anywhere from 30 to 40 percent. So this really does hit home for the Venezuelan population and community here in Doral. I'm going to step out and show you what we've been seeing here. This is a place called El Arepazo here in Doral. You can see people have filled this gas station. They've gone over to the street as people are honking their horns here. It's been jubilation ever since the news first came out this morning that Nicolás Maduro has been seized and taken out of the country. And people here tell me this is a day that's going to go down in history for Venezuela, telling me that what happened this morning isn't an act of war, but an act of freedom. People have been out here singing, hugging, dancing and again have been out here. But since before the sun came up here, people have been singing the Venezuelan national anthem in the U.S. national anthem. And I've spoken to many people with family, including family down in Caracas, and they tell me they're much more comfortable in going to see them now. I've spoken to families who haven't even been able to go see their families in person in Venezuela for close to a decade. And we've seen people from all different generations, young, old. The younger people are keenly aware of the history of their native country and how for decades people have been waiting for a day like this where they can start to see some sort of pathway towards a democracy for Venezuela, because with, of course, with Maduro before his regime, there was Hugo Chavez. So many of the people here, they feel this is a giant weight off of their shoulders. They feel that they may actually there may actually be some hope for Venezuela here. And also the demonstrators tell me that, you know, in the last election where Maduro was accused of rigging the election and seizing the presidency, they told me that was the only way to get him out of office. And so there's been a lot of talks about, you know, with the U.S. government taking control of Venezuela. The president has accused that country of helping smuggle drugs in. There's been the bullet strikes. But what seems to be the common sentiment for all of the people here is that the most important step towards a democracy has happened, and that is that Nicolas Maduro has been removed from office. I'm going to put you on the spot. We have time if you want to grab someone and just ask them a couple of quick questions. Yeah, well, we do have a lot of people here. Excuse me, gentlemen. Excuse me, Pablo, would you get to talk to us real quick on CBS News? OK, so we want to ask you guys, what does this mean with seeing Nicolas Maduro being removed from Venezuela? What does that mean? Wow, it's an overwhelming feeling, and there's so much meaning behind finally having a glimmer of hope and light of having our country freed for so many years. We have generations in Venezuela that don't know what liberty is. They grew up under a communist socialist rule their entire lives. They're in their mid-20s. They're in the peak of their life. They've never, ever had a real shot at freedom. And this is just the beginning of it. You know, Maduro's out. That's wonderful. But let's keep in mind, like in so many other parts of the world, if we remove or we aid a country, regain its sovereignty. Right. But we don't do anything about the incoming government. What happens? Today, we got a great message. They followed up by telling us that the U.S. didn't just do what we all know they did last night. They're going to follow through and remain there until the official government is in power. And we do have an official government. Eighty percent of people voted against Maduro, so he wasn't a president. He was an usurper of power. And for the Venezuelans, it means everything. It means everything. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. You can hear that's just been the common sentiment around here, that a big weight is off their shoulders since Nicolas Maduro is gone. Hopefully that could be a step towards democracy. And Stephen, Jerry, we cannot thank you and your videographer enough for getting us that live interview. Thank you. We know there are protests planned today for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Portland, New York City and D.C. protesting the president's action.

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Venezuelans in South Florida react with joy over Maduro's capture

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