Vancouver’s Venezuelan community responds to developments back home

Maxyori Araque owns TekeGourmet, a small startup in Burnaby offering Venezuelan cuisine.

Araque immigrated from Caracas to British Columbia in 2012. On Saturday, the conversations with those back home were filled with emotion.

“I spoke with my family, and they are happy,” she told The Leader Spirit.

The local Venezuelan community is responding with mixed emotions to the news that the United States had captured the South American country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife after carrying out airstrikes.

Araque says their reactions have been shaped by years of unrest and repression.

“Nicolás Maduro was cruel, even at the beginning, people protesting, children protesting, 14- or 15-year-olds at school,” she said.

Her daughter, Maria Suzin, says the latest developments — including the actions taken by the United States — are being carefully weighed by Venezuelans.

“It is much easier to negotiate with the U.S. than it is with a dictatorial regime that has been silencing us, torturing us, and keeping us away for so long,” Suzin said.

She says many Venezuelans see the situation as a trade-off with serious consequences.

“I think if we have to choose between oil and freedom, we choose freedom.”

She also stresses the importance of Venezuelan voices being heard.

“I feel that it is unreasonable to speak over Venezuelans on this topic or on how we should feel.”

Venezuelan-Canadian Adriana Peña, who lives on Vancouver Island, says she is elated by Saturday’s news.

“It’s been years of chaos and havoc in Venezuela, and I thought it would continue on,” she said.

“It’s about time, to be honest, so I’m happy for my friends and family in Venezuela.”

Peña says she moved to Canada in the ’80s and wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to return.

“I didn’t think it was safe to go back there.”

The situation does come with uncertainty, however.

“There’s a bit of a vacuum; we don’t know what the new regime is going to look like,” she said.

“Obviously, there are going to be questions, but anything is better than what we had before.”

Community advocates say change, if it comes, will take time.

“It’s a step, the first step on a long road to hopefully a new government and a stronger democracy,” said Meriely Arias with the Canadian Venezuelan Society of B.C.

While many in the local community say the moment brings cautious optimism, concerns continue for family still waiting for lasting change.

Meanwhile, some say it’s time to focus on the positive.

“Maybe one day, it will be safe for me to go back there and see my family,” said Peña.

— With a file from Emma Crawford