In the day following the capture of Venezuelan Dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem <\/span>proclaimed<\/span><\/a> that “Venezuela today is more free than it was yesterday.” As a result, Noem said she would not reinstate <\/span>Temporary Protected Status<\/span><\/a> (TPS) for Venezuelans, which the DHS <\/span>rescinded<\/span><\/a> in 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the TPS program, foreign nationals from specified countries experiencing a crisis are protected from deportation and given work authorization. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> Fox News that Venezuelans who received TPS under the Biden administration “can now go home with hope for their country,” and asserted that Venezuela will now have “peace, prosperity, and stability.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet for many Venezuelan nationals living in the United States, the prospect of going home is not as rosy as Noem and McLaughlin make it seem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Venezuelans are happy, but they’re not celebrating,” Ana Mar\u00eda Diez tells <\/span>Reason<\/span><\/i>. Diez is the cofounder and <\/span>president<\/span><\/a> of Coalici\u00f3n por Venezuela<\/em>, a Venezuelan civil rights network. She fled to Spain in 2022 after being targeted by the Maduro regime for her advocacy. While removing Maduro from power was a huge step for Venezuelans who had given up on the idea of justice, it’s too early to say the country is on a path to prosperity, according to Diez.<\/span><\/p>\n

After President Donald Trump announced his intention of working with <\/span>Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/span><\/a>, Venezuela’s former vice president and now acting dictator with a history of human rights abuses of her own, Diez expressed skepticism that much had changed in her home country. Diez compared the transition of power to a mere “rebrand” of a deeply oppressive regime. Although some political prisoners were <\/span>freed on Thursday<\/span><\/a> in a gesture of goodwill to the U.S., Diez says there is still a lot of fear amongst Venezuelans. “El Helicoide,” Venezuela’s <\/span>largest torture center<\/span><\/a>, formerly overseen by Rodr\u00edguez herself as <\/span>head<\/span><\/a> of the nation’s national intelligence agency, and other torture centers\u00a0are still operational. Meanwhile, laws remain in place that could make speaking out against the country’s government a <\/span>crime<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly after Rodr\u00edguez took power this week, Venezuelan police were ordered to “immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States,” <\/span>according<\/span><\/a> to Reuters. “Right now, people are being detained and accused of treason for simply shouting ‘freedom,'” says Diez.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Venezuela has a history of using violence and guns against the people,” Josu\u00e9 S\u00e1nchez, a Venezuelan national currently living in Florida, tells <\/span>Reason<\/span><\/i>. “And right now the military is on high alert.” S\u00e1nchez came to the U.S. in 2020, received TPS in 2021, and currently has an open asylum case. Although S\u00e1nchez is “happy” the U.S. removed Maduro from power, he says it’s only the “first step in a long process to clean the country” of corruption. “It’s like taking the hood off, but the engine is still running.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez emphasized the instability that Maduro’s ouster has created in Venezuela. “They’ve closed the Colombian border,” said S\u00e1nchez, “it’s pretty much a war zone right now.” <\/span><\/p>\n

“If the situation gets better, people will return, but now is not the time,” he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jes\u00fas Noria, another Venezuelan national living in Florida with an open asylum case, echoes S\u00e1nchez’s concerns. “The situation is tense in Venezuela right now. People won’t post about it because the government is watching,” he says. “Guerrillas are out…blocking the streets and asking for papers, so people are staying silent.” On Tuesday, <\/span>The New York Post<\/span><\/i> reported<\/span><\/a> that armed gangs in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, were hunting down supporters of Maduro’s capture and demanding to search people’s phones and cars. Thousands of Venezuelans have already fled the ongoing guerrilla offensive, <\/span>reports<\/span><\/a> The Guardian<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“There’s a lot of tension, and people are asking what’s going to happen next,” Noria says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Noria came to the U.S. under TPS in 2023 after being captured and tortured by the Venezuelan army and is currently waiting on the outcome of his pending asylum case. He says he doesn’t feel safe returning to Venezuela during what he described as the “power struggle” likely taking place. “The Chavismo has a lot of concentrated power, and they’re ready to defend it.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez and Noria, both former TPS holders, feel strongly that the DHS should reinstate TPS protections for Venezuelans. Noria, who was in favor of Trump’s immigration crackdown when it focused on deporting criminals, doesn’t think the country is made safer by targeting working immigrants. Giving TPS to Venezuelans who wish to continue working in the U.S. rather than return to an unstable country would enable them to “live their lives peacefully,” he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez, who has debated whether staying in the U.S. is the right thing to do, tells <\/span>Reason<\/span><\/i> that “every day is a gamble without TPS, but the alternatives are worse.” Ultimately, the country’s ongoing <\/span>economic crisis<\/span><\/a> and fears that authorities will extort him have convinced S\u00e1nchez to stay in the United States. “Venezuelans want freedom and to return to a safe, uncorrupt government,” according to S\u00e1nchez.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Removing Maduro was only a first step. It’s not enough to secure prosperity and peace,” S\u00e1nchez says, arguing that TPS should be given to Venezuelans as his home country navigates the current political instability. “I deserve to have a life in the time being.” <\/span><\/p>\n

The post DHS Says Venezuela Is Safe for Migrants To 'Go Home' to After Maduro's Capture. These Venezuelans Disagree.<\/a> appeared first on Reason.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Venezuelan nationals interviewed by Reason say they don\u2019t feel safe returning to the country while Maduro\u2019s regime is still in power. \u201cIt\u2019s like taking the hood off, but the engine is still running.\u201d …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[19,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124157"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124157\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}