For thousands of immigrants who came to Chicago from Venezuela, this weekend’s capture of President Nicolas Maduro has sparked guarded, cautious hope.
Ten years ago, Dayana Klein fled Caracas, Venezuela, under Maduro’s regime. She began a new life in Chicago, opening a bakery with her sister.
“At the beginning when I just came here, I didn’t speak English at all. My life changed totally. I went to college in Venezuela and here, we didn’t know how do (things). We were lost,” Klein said. “We were really lucky to find people to help us to make this business and people that support us.”
Klein’s Bakery & Café on the North Side is normally known its Latin American-inspired desserts and Venezuelan baked goods. But following the capture of Maduro, the bakery has become a place where Venezuelans can share their thoughts about what’s happening in their home country.
Klein has not returned to Venezuela since she left 10 years ago, but she speaks with her parents daily. She has concerns for the country but remains hopeful about what’s to come.
“I am so happy this happened. We were waiting a lot of time for something to happen. It’s really difficult for us at the beginning to leave our family, our country,” Klein said.
Thousands more Venezuelans in the Chicago area who fled Maduro’s regime are also closely watching what’s happening. Between August 2022 and the end of 2024, about 55,000 new Venezuelan immigrants came to the Chicago area, according to the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance.
Ana Gil Garcia, the alliance’s founder, said her immediate reaction to the news about Maduro was one of joy and hope, but she wants Venezuelans to stay cautious because they don’t know what’s going to happen next.
“We’ve been waiting for more than 26 years that this tragedy ended somehow,” Gil Garcia said. “We were waiting, not only for Maduro to be removed, but also Maduro’s team in the government — the major players — to be also taken away.”
She believes the U.S. government made the right decision in capturing Maduro, but as for President Donald Trump’s pledge that the U.S. will run the country, her response is “Venezuela should be led by Venezuelans.”
“(On) July 29, 2024 we went to a transparent election, and 70% of the votes were given to Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado. Those are the ones who are the leaders of the country. We don’t want Marco Rubio in the country. We don’t want President Trump in the country,” Gil Garcia said.
What is it like on the ground in Venezuela now following Maduro’s ouster? Gil Garcia, who speaks often to her family there, said largely, things remain the same.
“The regime is still in control,” she explained. “They are patrolling the streets. We have to remember that more than 100,000 people were armed by Maduro’s regime. They had the arms. They had the guns. And people are so afraid to go to the street. People are so afraid to text to each other right now.”
Many of the Venezuelans who came to Chicago between 2022 and 2024 have since left. Many questions remain, such as how Maduro’s ouster will affect the immigration status of Venezuelans currently in the United States. Overall, Gil Garcia believes the current events have changed Americans’ perspectives on the situation in Venezuela and hopes they will understand Venezuelans are hardworking people.
“People who came here — they came for legitimate reasons … They brought their families. They came to work. They came to bring their children to the schools for a better life,” Gil Garcia said.
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