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While U.S. lawmakers have praised and condemned the Trump administration’s military strikes on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, a leader in the Philadelphia region’s Venezuelan community said the day’s news brought about “mixed emotions” regarding the South American country’s future.
“As a Venezuelan American … what is happening right now in our nation, in our country, in [the] United States, I do not agree with many of the things that the federal government is doing at all whatsoever,” said Nelly Jiménez-Arévalo, who works in local government and previously served on former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs. “However, I think this was the only way that Maduro was going to leave Venezuela.”
Jiménez-Arévalo emphasized that Maduro is an “illegitimate president.” Domestic and international analyses by media organizations and election watchdog groups found that opposition party candidate Edmundo González defeated Maduro in the 2024 elections.
“I think what people don’t understand is that Maduro wasn’t going to leave on his own,” she said. “History will tell … what is going to happen next. But I think that if the military wouldn’t have taken Maduro, he wouldn’t have gone peacefully.”
In the aftermath of the attacks, Jiménez-Arévalo says she is concerned for the safety of her family members living in Venezuela. Many individuals from Maduro’s regime are still in power, and she fears retaliation from paramilitary groups that are friendly to Maduro and persecution of political prisoners.
“We want a transition,” she said. “At the same time, you’re thinking about the people who are [on] the ground, who are living through this. I think that the best is to really make sure that there is actually a real transition of government, from dictatorship to a new democracy, that is going to help Venezuela to start healing.”
Jiménez-Arévalo also criticized Trump’s policies as “contradictory,” saying his administration is carrying out a “coordinated attack” on Venezuelan immigrants in the United States by taking away Temporary Protected Status and work permits, as well as ramping up deportations.
“Yes, we’re going to go … to Venezuela and defend Venezuela’s democracy, but here we treat Venezuelans … like criminals, right?” she said. “So I think that’s a contradiction.”
Venezuela’s uncertain future
During a press conference Saturday morning at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were being taken to New York to face drug and weapons charges. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the press conference characterized the couple as “indicted fugitives of American justice.”
In a statement, nonprofit groups Casa de Venezuela Philadelphia, Casa de Venezuela Delaware and Gente de Venezuela Philadelphia called for “peace, calm, harmony, and non-confrontation,” and asked Venezuelans in the region to carefully fact-check and verify posts on social media before sharing to prevent the spread of misinformation.
“This is a developing situation, and many details about the timing, manner, and mechanisms through which a potential transition process may unfold are still unknown,” the statement reads. “In light of this reality, we call for caution and patience, and we express our hope and faith that the restoration of democratic order, institutions, and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people will be a fundamental priority in any future scenario.”
The organizations are planning a mass and vigil for the future of Venezuela on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Organizers said it will be a “space for reflection, faith, and community gathering.”
