CENTRAL FLORIDA — Ousted Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, was defiant Monday as he and his wife appeared before a U.S. judge in a New York Federal courtroom.
He and his wife both pleaded not guilty to all their federal drug trafficking charges.
It comes as the Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodrgiuez was sworn in as interim president, as the country continues to grapple with the arrest of Maduro.
This big story is hitting home for the tens of thousands of Venezuelans who live in Central Florida.
Data from the UCF Puerto Rico Research Hub shows in 2024 more than 70,000 Venezuelans resided in Orange County alone.
Daniella Tenorio was just eleven years old when she left Venezuela and moved to Orange County.
On Monday, Tenorio told Channel 9 that Maduro’s ouster has been long-awaited and is being celebrated in her community.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for since the last election, the election that was robbed from us, from the people that voted against him,” said Tenorio, “This definitely brought back a little bit of hope.”
Since 2019, more than 50 countries, including the United States, have refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s head of state.
Human rights groups said the Venezuelan government under Maduro engaged in unlawful killings and repression of political enemies.
Tenorio shared photos with Channel 9 of her life back in Venezuela, where her father had been politically active, and she herself had attended protests with her family.
“During that period of time, my dad was very much an activist. He was in every protest. He was working against the Communist Party. And for that, he had a target on his back,” said Tenorio.
She recalled a protest in the nation’s capital, Caracas, that ended with her neighborhood being gas bombed. Her family took in student protestors trying to flee attacks by the National Guard of Venezuela on students who had taken to the streets.
Tenorio said the protests only intensified as the country’s economic realities worsened.
“We started seeing scarcity in formula, baby formula. We started seeing in scarcity in baby diapers. And then it escalated to a point where we were missing food,” said Tenorio.
Tenorio described the constant fear for her family, particularly her father, who remained politically active until he had no choice but to flee.
Her father left first with her stepmother, and Tenorio said she followed in 2017, eventually settling in Central Florida.
“I was like getting on a plane to go to a country that I didn’t know by myself and not knowing when I was going to be able to see my family again,” said Tenorio.
Tenorio is now studying communications at UCF and says, for the first time in about a decade, she is optimistic for Venezuela’s future.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Senator Rick Scott also weighed in on Maduro’s arrest, expressing hope for better days ahead in Venezuela.
“It’s going to be a lot work to get to democracy and freedom. What we have to think about is what we want the kids in Venezuela to have the same opportunities we want our kids and our great kids to have,” said Scott.
Governor Ron DeSantis also told reporters Monday, “He (Maduro) deserves to be brought to justice. And my sincere hope is that the people of Venezuela are going to be able to liberate themselves from the yoke of the Chavez-Maduro reign, because it has been one of the most destructive reigns of any in the Western Hemisphere’s history.”
Central Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost also took to social media stating in part:
“What President Trump is doing in Venezuela is illegal, dangerous, and outside the bounds of his constitutional authority. This is a moment that carries many feelings across the Venezuelan diaspora. Nicolás Maduro was a brutal dictator and an authoritarian. He has repressed, jailed, disappeared, and murdered his people for over a decade. I stand against authoritarianism, no matter the nation.”
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