NORFOLK, Va. — U.S. military captures Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in attack on Venezuela
On January 3rd, the United States military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife during an attack on Venezuela, bringing them to the United States for questioning.
Local Venezuelan restaurant owner Cesar Timaure says the Venezuelan community has mixed emotions about the dramatic development.
"The Venezuelans are really really happy but we are still worried about what's going on in my country," Timaure said.
Timaure and his wife Graciela own T-Zone Criollo and Pa'l Carajo Arepa Lounge. Born and raised in Venezuela, his family has lived in the U.S. for 10 years. He says Venezuelans have been waiting for change for decades.
"We know that this is the first step to just get rid of the dictatorship in my country bad. We still have to do a lot of stuff and we know that that's going to be a process that's not going to be an overnight solution," Timaure said.
According to AP News, President Trump said during a news conference Saturday that the U.S. would help run Venezuela with assistance from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.
Timaure still has family back in Venezuela, and says they welcome any help but remain nervous about the situation.
"It's hard for the Venezuelans it's really hard because we are so afraid about okay, we don't want other people doing this kind of stuff in our country because we don't know them. But we have been for 28 years under a dictatorship, and we know already that this is going to be a change, it's going to be a good change and we're going to see the changes in the future," Timaure said.
For many Venezuelans like Timaure, this moment brings relief and hope, but also uncertainty as they wait to see what the change will look like.
"I would like my country to be free, that's my only wish to my country," Timaure said.
According to Associated Press, a public indictment released January 3rd charges President Nicolás Maduro with four counts, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Both Maduro and his wife are being held in the United States. According to Associated Press, Maduro is due to make his first appearance in Manhattan's federal court on January 5th.
