‘This is a triumph’: Australian Venezuelans celebrate downfall of dictator
For many expatriates of the South American nation, the president’s capture marks a path towards democracy, but the future remains uncertain.
Venezuelans in Sydney and Melbourne are celebrating the capture of their country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, by US President Donald Trump. Many of them hope it marks a transition away from dictatorship and poverty, back towards the prosperity of the 1970s when Venezuela became the richest country in South America on the back of its abundant petroleum reserves.
While the imminent indictment of Maduro in New York has raised questions about the legality of Trump’s orders, Jackeline Giovannucci, who fled Venezuela for Sydney in 2014, doesn’t see it as an invasion of her country but as a path towards democracy.
Jackeline Giovannucci, centre, and her family on Sunday afternoon.Credit: Jessica Hromas
“Venezuelans, we have lived with so many deceptions,” she said. “It’s sometimes hard to believe that the events [of Saturday night] finally occurred. There is an enormous human rights violation in Venezuela. We have asked for international help for many years, so this is a triumph.”
In her hometown, Barinas, a city in the country’s central west known for its rivers and fertile farmland, Giovannucci’s friends forgo meals to feed their children. When she left, she thought she would never see Venezuela change in her lifetime and that her two Australian-born daughters would never meet her sister.
For the first time, the prospect of going back feels real.
“We needed a larger force than Maduro to restore our democracy, and with our petroleum, we understand that’s what people say this attack is about … however, [former president Hugo] Chavez and Maduro sold it to China, Russia and Iran, and how has that money benefited Venezuelans if we don’t have food, medicine, no school for our children?” she said.
Venezuelan-Australians gather in a Melbourne restaurant to celebrate the ousting of Nicolas Maduro.Credit: Wayne Taylor
In a Venezuelan restaurant in Melbourne’s east, Valentina Oliveros has ordered hundreds of celebratory arepas rellenas: corn pancakes filled with slow-cooked meat, cheese and vegetables. She says the celebrations are not about the bombardment of her country.
“To say this is about the US intervention is not true. We are celebrating that Maduro is gone,” she said. “It’s like we are celebrating, but at the same time, no … there’s hope, but we understand that this isn’t our last chapter because we don’t know what will happen next.”
