Venezuelans in N.B. celebrate removal of President Nicolás Maduro

A group of Venezuelans living in Moncton, N.B., say Saturday was the most important day of their lives.

“I’m grateful,” said Maria Ortega. “You can’t even imagine how much.”

Ortega was among a group of Venezuelan friends who met at a downtown Moncton café Sunday morning to discuss the historic events in their country.

In a stunning raid, U.S. forces snatched Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from their home on a military base in Caracas early Saturday morning. They are being held in New York and will face federal charges for drug trafficking.

Maduro had been president for 12 years.

U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration will take control of Venezuela until a leadership transition can take place.

Ortega left her home country a decade ago because of political and economic unrest and said she witnessed protesters against the Maduro government shot in the head before she left.

When she saw news of the raid on social media, Ortega said she was scared about what was happening, but glad the U.S. came to remove Maduro.

“He’s not our president,” she said.

Ortega said she’s aware of the narrative that the U.S. is only interested in Venezuela’s oil and minerals but isn’t concerned with that right now.

“At this moment, we don’t care if they want to take oil,” said Ortega. “Russia, Cuba, Iran - they have been taking money. China, our oil, our gold, our silver and so many things from Venezuela. We don’t care. We just care about our people.”

John Ramirez left Venezuela for Colombia in 2014 and came to Canada in 2022. He said he doesn’t support Trump’s politics, but like his friend Ortega he’s glad Maduro is gone and fully supports his extraction by the U.S. military.

“We are in a dictatorship regime in our country and it’s not easy,” said Ramirez. “We tried all the things we can do as citizens when we were in our country to get rid of them. Democratically with votes. Protesting on the streets. The force and the power of the state in Venezuela just crushed us and even killed some of our friends.”

Ramirez said he isn’t sure what the near future will bring with the Trump administration taking over the country but it’s a difficult situation. He said he spoke to his brother yesterday who was stocking up on groceries just in case.

“My family are good, safe, but you never know,” he said.

Ulises Ceron said he moved to Moncton 15 years ago to keep his family safe. He saw the U.S. bombing Caracas on TV early Saturday morning.

“Nobody wants that,” said Ceron. “But can you imagine how bad our situation was there that we were okay with it?”

Ceron said he strongly disagrees with much of Trump’s politics but the Venezuelan people are celebrating Maduro’s removal and thinks it’s a step toward freedom.

“We celebrate at least the beginning because this isn’t going to be easy,” said Ceron. “It’s a country that was already destroyed with corruption, bad administration and criminality.”

Like Ortega and Ramirez, Ceron protested the government when he lived in Venezuela and saw people shot and killed.

“Maduro is a criminal with or without Donald Trump’s intervention,” said Ceron. “We want our country back.”

Ortega said she’ll eventually return home.

“Of course I want to go back,” she said. “Who doesn’t want to go back to their country? But I want to go back feeling safe… especially when you have sons and daughters.”

Ortega said she knows Venezuela needs to stabilize and civil liberties need to return before she can go back but she misses her family.

“I have more than ten years that I don’t give a hug to my sisters,” she said. “More than ten years that I don’t visit my country. You cannot even imagine how sad it is for Venezuelan people. December, Christmas for us? It’s a moment for sharing.”

Ramirez said Saturday’s historic events are a light at the end of the tunnel for all Venezuelans home and abroad.

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