PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Venezuelans across the Philadelphia region woke up to hundreds, if not thousands, of messages and calls from fellow countrymen in the United States and Venezuela after American forces seized control of the country and deposed President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday.
There’s a cautious optimism from Venezuelan leaders in the city as details emerged that Maduro and his wife had been detained by U.S. forces and removed from the country. At a Saturday news conference, President Donald Trump said the United States would take control of Venezuela until a peaceful transition of power could be organized. On Sunday, however, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the U.S. would not take a day-to-day role in governing Venezuela other than enforcing an existing "oil quarantine" on the country.
Emilio Buitrago with Philadelphia’s Casa de Venezuela said he panicked when he saw he had a missed call from his brother from around 1:30 a.m., along with 50 or more messages from friends and family in and out of Venezuela. Some were near the port in Caracas where the U.S. carried out strikes.
“They actually heard and saw the helicopters flying by; it seems like it took place very quickly. It was no more than half an hour,” he said. “But it was massive, I mean, explosions.”
Buitrago said Maduro’s fall did not come as a surprise.
“This is a moment that many people knew was going to happen,” he said.
“Everybody knows that the Maduro regime needed to go… The European Union, the U.S. government, both President Biden and President Trump, have recognized and mentioned that Maduro is, in fact, a dictator.”
After more than two decades of authoritarian rule, Buitrago said Venezuelans are balancing celebration with caution.
“After 20-plus years of a brutal regime that has caused the largest migration in the western hemisphere. Many people are celebrating, but a lot of people are also cautious,” he said.
Buitrago is concerned about who will actually take control.
“What is next? How is it going to happen next? How is this period of transition, when the president mentioned that the Americans are gonna take over, gonna play out?” he said.
He’s in favor of it being Edmundo Gonzalez, the man whom many Venezuelans believe they elected back in 2024 instead of Maduro, but Maduro seized control of the country anyway. Buitrago fears power could shift to Maduro’s Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez.
“They’re part of the same team. They’re part of the same group of members, part of the Venezuelan regime,” he said.
In the meantime, he called for unity among Venezuelans in the U.S. as they hope for a return to democracy in their country.
Several Philly Venezuelan organizations will hold a prayer for the future of Venezuela on Sunday at noon at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.