South Florida's Venezuelan community fears six more years of Maduro will lead to mass migration
MIAMI - The Venezuelan community in South Florida fears six more years of President Nicolás Maduro's regime in the home country could lead to a mass migration to the U.S.
On Sunday, Maduro declared himself the winner of the country's presidential race, even though independent exit polls show opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner.
Venezuelans in South Florida said they consider the people taking to the streets in their home country heroes as they express their disappointment, frustration and anger in massive demonstrations in several cities.
Military forces have been sent out to control the protesters. According to two non-governmental organizations, at least four people were killed during the protests on Monday, dozens have been arrested.
Luis Gonzalez, who now calls South Florida home, supports the protests and feels six more years of Maduro means more families fleeing the country.
"It's not only a family, it's the exodus of a whole nation," said Yusmila Hernandez.
Gonzalez said the election was supposed to change that.
"The expectation of the people is reunification," said Gonzalez.
Bringing families together was a main focus of the opposition leaders.
"Venezuela has had the biggest exodus in recent history, almost 8 million Venezuelans have left their country in the last decade," said Luis Atencio who flew back to Venezuela to vote.
Atencio said he feared Maduro would claim victory despite the enthusiasm for the opposition candidate. He said he cast his ballot for the end of socialism.
"I felt like I was doing a service, not only for myself but also for the people who couldn't come to vote," he said.
Early Monday, Venezuela's National Electoral Center, run by Maduro, announced that he had won the election with 51% of the vote and opposition candidate Gonzalez had 44% of the vote.
Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Monday that the country's opposition had 73.2% of the voting tallies from Sunday's election and she had proof to back up that claim. That is why Venezuelans calling for a change are not giving up, they say Maduro rigged the result.
Local, state and federal elected officials in Florida are calling for immediate action.
"These people will not give up power unless something dramatic happens," said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Suarez, who was optimistic Sunday about the outcome of the election, said the U.S. must take notice of what is going on.
"The United States must understand how critical this is, not just to Venezuela, this is critical for the United States," he said.
Congressman Carlos A. Gimenez, along with Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, sent a letter to the Biden Administration urging them to condemn the fraudulent power grab by Maduro and to reimpose sanctions immediately on the agents of his regime. They said the Venezuelan people deserve more than the Maduro dictatorship, including a fair count of their votes, and an electoral process free from intimidation.