The faces of Venezuelan exile: The hope of returning is always there. Now it's a little closer'

"The Venezuelan diaspora watched with astonishment, uncertainty and, many say, hope the United States' attack on Caracas and the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, January 3. In the last decade, more than eight million people have fled a country that now has just over 28 million inhabitants. This gives an idea of the hemorrhage Venezuela has experienced. They fled Chavista repression but also economic hardship. Many of these exiles watch the news with the hope of returning."

"David Fernandez, a 22-year-old delivery driver who gets around by bicycle, continues pedaling at the same pace as when he arrived in Colombia seven months ago, seeking the opportunities he couldn't find in Venezuela. He is one of the nearly three million Venezuelans living in the neighboring country. The uncertainty surrounding his own country worries him, but it hasn't altered his routine on the cold streets of Bogota."

"For me, it's the same, but I worry about my family back home, who say the streets are empty, that the supermarkets are this way or that way. You worry, he confesses. Before emigrating to Colombia, the young Venezuelan earned a living for himself and his family by cleaning windows, working as a vendor, and as a construction worker. I worked at whatever I could find, recalls Fernandez, the second of five siblings."

An estimated eight million Venezuelans left over the last decade from a population of about 28 million, driven by Chavista repression and severe economic collapse. Many exiles monitor political events with astonishment, uncertainty, and hope for possible return. Nearly three million Venezuelans live in Colombia, sustaining themselves with informal jobs. David Fernandez, 22, cycles as a delivery driver in Bogota after seven months, earning considerably more than in Venezuela while worrying about family back home. He dropped out of school to help his mother, worked various odd jobs, and continues to follow news from Venezuela while maintaining his routine.

Read at english.elpais.com