Venezuelans living in the UAE say they are happy to see the end of President Nicolas Maduro's reign but fear for their country's future.
Their comments came after US special forces seized Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a dramatic predawn raid on his compound in Caracas, before flying them to the US on Saturday
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday the US would “run the country” until it can ensure a “safe, proper and judicious transition”. He also said the country's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had been sworn in as acting president.
“I was very happy yesterday. Maduro made everything worse since he took power,” said Venezuelan Ivan Torellas, 40, speaking to The National on Sunday. “I paid attention carefully to what Trump said. We have to see the transition of power.”
Mr Torellas moved to Dubai seven years ago. Before that, he ran a business in Venezuela installing communications, but then the government began controlling the currency exchange. When he was unable to afford the high dollar rates, Mr Torellas was unable to buy equipment so he decided to leave.
“When I left, the country didn't look that bad. People still had money, and the salaries were not too low – you could still survive,” he said. “I have a lot of friends that started leaving because they went to protest on the streets and people got killed or put in jail.”
Venezuelan living in Dubai
Mr Maduro came to power in Venezuela following the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013. Mr Chavez swept to victory in the elections of 1998 after being jailed for fomenting a coup in 1992.
His populist policies won him wide support amid an oil boom that filled Venezuela's coffers, but he was accused of political repression and involvement in – or at least turning a blind eye to – the regional drug trade.
The US has long accused the Venezuelan government of being involved with regional criminal activity, including drug trafficking.
Last year, the US government raised the bounty on Mr Maduro from $25 million to $50 million. It also declared him the head of the Cartel de los Soles – a nebulous term used for Venezuelan officials believed to be involved in drug trafficking and other activities – and issued further sanctions against him.
Mr Torellos said he had not been back to his home country since 2016, feeling it was too dangerous to do so.
“There were no rights like we were supposed to have in a democracy,” he said. “It was normal to go and protest on the street. But at some point they started killing people.”
Saturday's events have understandably had a reaction among the people of Venezuela, said Mr Torellos.
“My family is about four hours driving from Caracas. They told me that the supermarkets are getting complicated because people are afraid that if something worse happens then food could run out.
“We are used to this because for many years we started stockpiling everything. Yesterday, people tried to go and buy stuff, there were long queues for petrol. It's going to be very difficult for people there for the next few months, but I'm hopeful.”
Another Dubai resident from Venezuela said she was not unhappy about the removal of Mr Maduro from office, even though she remains concerned over the nation's direction.
“Under Maduro everything became worse. In 2017, you were afraid to protest. Even though it was our right, we never knew if we would come back alive,” said Maria, who did not want us to use her real name, who left the city of Maracay 30 years ago.
“The government was using very heavy ways to repress us. Even outside Venezuela, every time that there was a protest there was violence.
“One time they put a gun to my head, and a young kid saved me. He came with his skateboard between the guy and me, and told the police to stop.”
The people of Venezuela made numerous calls to the international for help. Calls which fell on dear ears, until now, she said.
“Maduro is not my president. We tried so many times with the international community to do something, [such as] signing petitions but nothing happened in all these years,” she said.
“We have so much proof of the corruption. No one from the international community has done anything.”
Maria is flying back to her home country next week and is expecting to meet challenging conditions.
“I know that I'm going to face no electricity or water and long queues for petrol, but it's worth it,” she said. “We won’t be another Puerto Rico and we are not voting to become another star of the American flag.”
