Brandon Venezuelans welcome Maduro’s arrest

Three Venezuelans living in Brandon say the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. authorities has brought a mix of relief, celebration and anxiety.

Family members back home are braced for uncertainty while hoping for long-awaited political change, Saidith Harrington, who has lived in Brandon for more than three years, told the Sun.

“The news represents accountability after years of hardship. Most people don’t know what it’s like to live in Venezuela,” she said. “It was just trying to get food every day. Milk, meat, the most basic things — sometimes it was impossible.”

Harrington, who left Venezuela about six years ago, first moving to Colombia before eventually settling in Canada, said Maduro bears responsibility for the country’s economic collapse and daily suffering.

“We are really happy the United States intervened because the person responsible for all the miserable things that happened in the country is finally being taken care of,” she said.

She added that ordinary Venezuelans never benefited from the country’s vast oil wealth and instead endured chronic shortages, blackouts and soaring inflation.

“Every day the food prices change,” Harrington said. “You don’t know if tomorrow you’ll have electricity or water.”

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arrested Saturday from their residence on a military base and transported to the United States to face prosecution following a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

Since the arrest, Harrington has remained in contact with family members still living in Venezuela, including her brother. She said fear and uncertainty have dominated daily life in recent days.

“The first thing that happened was everyone went to the supermarkets,” she said. “Prices went up, lines were very long and there wasn’t enough food.”

She said many people have stayed indoors after seeing military personnel on the streets, unsure of what could happen next. “They’re scared, but they also see a light in all the darkness,” Harrington said.

The arrest is the consequence of years of repression, Frank Andrade of the Primero Justicia opposition party told the Sun on Monday.

Andrade, who arrived in Canada in 2024 and is currently seeking political asylum, said he was persecuted after helping oversee ballot security during Venezuela’s July 2024 election.

“They seized my passport, and I had to be taken out through the Colombian border, passing military stations,” the 73-year-old said through his daughter, who translated.

Andrade said the election was won decisively by opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, but the results “were never recognized” by Maduro’s government.

“Seventy per cent of Venezuelans voted for Edmundo González,” Andrade said. “Maduro declared himself a dictator and started persecuting opposition.”

He said the arrest marks a potential turning point after more than two decades of oppression.

“We have suffered for 26 years — persecution, hunger, poverty,” he said. “Ninety per cent of the population is in poverty. The minimum wage is three dollars a month.”

Andrade said the next step must be a peaceful transition, allowing a legitimate government to take power and organize free elections.

“We are waiting for the military structure to allow the transition,” he said. “Then democracy can begin again.”

Isabel Andrade, who left Venezuela in 2015, said the arrest restored hope for Venezuelans who had lost faith after years of protests that led nowhere.

“We were hopeless,” she said. “We protested for years — millions of people in the streets — and nothing happened.”

She said the opposition lacks resources, while “armed groups” loyal to the government have long intimidated civilians.

“We didn’t have any way to fight them,” she said. “So yes, I’m grateful.”

Isabel Andrade, Frank’s daughter, rejected criticism from some who argue the U.S. intervention was inappropriate.

“Those people are not Venezuelan,” she said. “They never fought for us when our oil was being given away and our people were starving.”

She said she continues to hear from family members in Venezuela, who are cautiously optimistic but staying indoors.

“They went out early to buy food and then came back home,” she said. “Now they’re just waiting.”

Despite differing emotions, all three Venezuelans share a common hope: that the arrest will lead to stability, basic services and dignity for those still living in their homeland.

“My hope,” Harrington said, “is that people can live a normal life again — with food, electricity, water — as people do in other countries.”

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