THOUSANDS of Venezuelan expats took to the streets on Saturday evening to celebrate the capture of Nicolas Maduro, the country’s socialist leader who has clung on to power since 2013.
Maduro and his wife were abducted by US special forces in the early hours of Saturday morning in an unprecedented military assault hailed as ‘extraordinary’ by President Trump.
“We’re going to run the country until such a time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said in a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The Venezuelan leader has been taken to New York where he will face charges of ‘narco-terrorism’.
The move brings an end to Maduro’s regime, which has ruled Venezuela with an iron fist since the death of authoritarian predecessor Hugo Chavez thirteen years ago.
Across Spain, thousands of Venezuelans poured onto the streets to hail Maduro’s downfall.
Madrid’s Puerta del Sol became a hive of activity with hundreds of expats waving national flags, playing traditional folk music and dancing in conga lines.
Approximately 400,000 Venezuelans currently live in Spain – a ten-fold increase since just a decade ago.
Millions have left Venezuela in recent years due to deep economic collapse, which has led to shortages of basic commodities, insecurity and political repression.
Venezuela’s opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez has lived in the Spanish capital since 2024, the year of a disputed election many international commentators believe was rigged in Maduro’s favour.
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