NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Venezuelan restaurant Totuma in Nashville became a gathering place as members of the city's Venezuelan community watched President Trump announce a U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Sophia Higuerey, who left Venezuela in 2023 after college and moved to Nashville, said she never expected this development.
"I thought maybe something would happen, but not this. This is, I have no words," Higuerey said.
She described the news as significant for the Venezuelan community.
"It's the light at the end of the tunnel that we are seeing for the first time in so long because the last elections, I think most Venezuelan people, we lost hope," Higuerey said.
Higuerey found a large Venezuelan community in Nashville after leaving her home country. Her mother moved to Spain after struggling to access cancer treatment in Venezuela.
"My mom is a cancer survivor and all of the treatment medicines were way more expensive," Higuerey said.
While the announcement brings hope for change, it also creates worry for family members still in Venezuela. Higuerey's father remains in the country, in a city currently without power.
"My father is in Venezuela and the city he is in there is no power. We thought this could happen. This is the next step. We don't know what is going on right now," Higuerey said.
Despite the uncertainty, Higuerey believes this could mark a turning point.
"Like this is the beginning for something that we have been waiting for so long," Higuerey said.
The development restores hope for change that could eventually allow her to return home and visit family.
Have you witnessed how immigrant communities in Middle Tennessee react to major developments in their home countries? Share your story or thoughts with NewsChannel 5's Kim Rafferty at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com. Watch the full video report to see the emotional reactions from Nashville's Venezuelan community as this historic announcement unfolded.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
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