Name: Venezuelans in the U.S. react to upheaval and who should lead next
Uploaded: 2026-01-07T01:39:24.157Z
Duration: 1 min 47 s
Description: After decades of fear and instability, Venezuelans in the U.S. are cautiously hopeful about what comes next. CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil spoke to Venezuelans in Doral, Florida.

After decades of fear and instability, Venezuelans in the U.S. are cautiously hopeful about what comes next. CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil spoke to Venezuelans in Doral, Florida.

Doral

Venezuelans living in Doral, Florida, many of whom fled the regimes of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, have expressed renewed hope following recent political developments in their home country. Despite the end of their temporary protected status in the U.S., most do not plan to return to Venezuela soon, instead focusing on building their futures in America.

Community members, including business owners and young adults, overwhelmingly support Maria Corina Machado as the preferred leader for Venezuela's future. They emphasize the need for political and economic transformation to restore prosperity and stability, with many describing a newfound optimism after years of fear and hardship.

Venezuelans in the U.S. react to upheaval and who should lead next

And as we walk the streets of Doral today, home to tens of thousands of Venezuelans, many of them victims of Chavez or Maduro or both, we heard that same wish for democracy and that same choice for their leader, Maria Carina Machado. In Doral, even in the local Italian gelato shop, you run into Venezuelans, some of the thousands here to escape the misery and danger of their lives under Nicolas Maduro. And now, in the aftermath of the U.S. raid to remove him, some of the most hopeful people in America. Freddy Hernandez owns the place and his nephew Victor helps scoop. What do you hope happens now in Venezuela? There has to be a political and economic transformation, he tells me. It has to become a prosperous country, as it was before. Both had what's known as temporary protected status, allowing them to stay in America legally, a status the Trump administration ended last year. But if the White House thinks Venezuelans like these will be heading back once their country is stabilized, that's not what we heard. Do you think your nephew will have a brighter future in America, or is it now potentially Venezuela? His future is here, he told me. Just outside, we noticed a group still waving flags of celebration. And when it comes to who should lead Venezuela next, there's only one answer we heard. To me, it is unquestionable it should be Maria Corina. You feel that way? We found Luis Rodriguez, who at 26 said life in Venezuela was worthless until now. How do you feel about the future of Venezuela today? So today, it's been a hope. It's been a really hope for all of us, for all Venezuelans. We've been afraid for more than 25 years.

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