"For years, Luis Peche, a 31-year-old political consultant, dreamed of a Venezuela without its leader, Nicolas Maduro. Living under Maduro's rule, Peche saw friends flee the country for fear of hunger and repression. Others were imprisoned for their activism. Then, in May 2025, Peche himself was forced into exile after being tipped off that security forces were preparing to arrest him. He has lived in Colombia ever since."
"So, when Peche awoke on January 3 to learn that Maduro was no longer in power, he erupted with joy. Tears streamed down his face as he called his mother in Caracas to celebrate. It represented the possibility that the terrible things we've lived through could finally come to an end, Peche said from a terrace overlooking Bogota. That possibility included the chance to return home."
Luis Peche, a 31-year-old political consultant, fled Caracas in 2025 fearing arrest and has lived in Colombia since. He reacted with joy on January 3 when Nicolas Maduro was removed from power, seeing a chance to end economic turmoil and political violence and to return home. The United States abducted Maduro to New York to face trial, yet Maduro's government structures and repression mechanisms remain in place. The Trump administration has recognised Delcy Rodriguez as interim leader. Roving gangs that repressed dissent continue patrolling streets and threaten opposition sympathizers, leaving many exiled Venezuelans to judge return as too dangerous.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]