HOUSTON — Venezuelan immigrants in Houston expressed mixed reactions after U.S. forces detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an overnight operation early Saturday.
Dozens of Venezuelans gathered outside a Latin American grocery store in Katy on Saturday to celebrate Maduro’s capture. Miluixsy Miranda, 27, who immigrated to the U.S. two and a half years ago after living in Panama, led a congo line in the parking lot. “Being an immigrant is something that has been really difficult for many of us, but we’re happy – it’s a miracle from God,” she said in Spanish.
Houston is home to the third-largest Venezuelan population in the U.S., with more than 50,000 migrants in the metropolitan area, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Many residents cited hope that Maduro’s ousting could lead to political change in Venezuela. Hector Machuca, 44, said the capture marked “the beginning of the end” for Maduro’s regime.
At the same time, protesters in Houston voiced opposition to U.S. intervention. On Sunday, demonstrators gathered near the Galleria Mall, carrying signs that read “No blood for oil” and chanting against U.S. involvement. Caleb Kurowski, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, compared the operation to prior U.S. interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other attendees said they were observing the situation without taking a side. Andres Gomez, who has family in Colombia and knows Venezuelan migrants, described the issue as “very complicated,” while his friend Travis Lejune opposed U.S. intervention, saying it contributes to regional instability.
The U.S. government has said it will temporarily “run” Venezuela and that American companies may take over oil infrastructure. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, sworn in as interim president, rejected U.S. control over the country.
