"Early last Saturday morning, Chile's capital awoke to the sound of jubilant cheers echoing between the tower blocks. News had filtered through from Caracas of the U.S. operation to seize President Nicolas Maduro, and Chile's sizable Venezuelan diaspora could barely contain its joy. More than 1,000 people gathered in Parque Almagro in Santiago to embrace one another, cheer, chant and weep. "I was in the park with them all day," said Mary Montesinos, 49,"
""They've captured Maduro, but the regime hasn't fallen," she said. "They've been building it for 25 years, it'll take a long time to disassemble." Amid one of Latin America's worst ever refugee crises, the United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that as much as 23 percent of Venezuela's population has fled the country as the economic crisis deepened. At the end of last year, as many as 2,000 people were still leaving every day. Chile has received many of these migrants."
Thousands of Venezuelan migrants in Santiago reacted with joy to news of a U.S. operation to seize President Nicolas Maduro, gathering in Parque Almagro to embrace, chant and weep. Diaspora members expressed cautious optimism, noting that dismantling a regime built over decades will take time. The UN Refugee Agency estimates up to 23 percent of Venezuela's population has fled amid an economic collapse, with up to 2,000 people leaving daily at the end of last year. Chile has received many migrants, and Venezuelan cultural foods and shops have become widespread across the country after several migration waves.
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