YU Venezuelan Students React to the Arrest of Nicolás Maduro

Venezuelan students at Yeshiva University reacted as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested by the United States in a Jan. 3 operation in Caracas.

Late on Jan. 2, President Donald Trump ordered Operation Absolute Resolve, which involved overnight U.S. military airstrikes and a raid on Fort Tiuna in Caracas, where Maduro and his wife were arrested. Trump has since expressed plans to exert control over the country, though Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has assumed leadership as interim president. Maduro is currently on trial in New York on drug-related charges and has pleaded not guilty. U.S. officials reported that approximately 75 people were killed during the operation.

Two Venezuelan students spoke to The Commentator on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. While The Commentator generally does not publish anonymous sources, editors granted anonymity in this case out of concern for the students’ personal and familial safety.

One student told The Commentator they were in “complete shock” upon hearing the news, which they learned late Saturday night, Jan. 3, from their Shabbat host. 

“My [Venezuelan] friend and I were momentarily speechless,” the student said. “It took a few seconds to process what we had just heard, and then we rushed to get our phones to contact our families. Our emotions were overwhelming — disbelief, excitement and relief all at once. For the first time in many years, the idea of returning home felt possible, not as an escape, but as a choice.”

“As a foreign student, and particularly as a Venezuelan, there has always been an underlying understanding that returning home to build a professional future was not a realistic or safe option,” the student added. “With this news, there is renewed optimism that Venezuela may soon offer real professional and economic opportunities. It gives us confidence that we may one day return not only to witness the country’s recovery, but also to actively contribute to its growth and development using the education and values we have gained at Yeshiva University.”

The student expressed hope that the moment could mark a “new beginning” for Venezuela and a period of “renewed growth and stability” for the country’s Jewish community.

The Jewish community in Venezuela dates back to as early as the 1600s and numbered more than 25,000 in the 1900s. Today, it is estimated to include roughly 5,000 people. Venezuela is home to approximately 15 synagogues and a Jewish K-12 school, Colegio Moral y Luces Herzl-Bialik, founded in 1947. Rodríguez has claimed there was a “Zionist tint” to the U.S. operation, and amid ongoing repression, “the community’s chief rabbi has warned many times not to publicly oppose the government,” Venezuelan-Israeli Daniel Behar told The Times of Israel.

“It opens the door for a stronger presence of Jewish institutions, kiruv organizations and Torah education, without the constant fear that one must leave the country in order to live a spiritually meaningful and secure Jewish life,” the student said. 

Another Venezuelan student, also speaking anonymously, told The Commentator they learned of the arrest on Shabbat morning.

“At first I could not believe it,” the student said. “It seemed impossible.”

While the student said the news does not significantly affect their daily experience at YU, they noted the possibility of easier travel between the U.S. and Venezuela. The student expressed uncertainty about Venezuela’s future leadership but voiced hope for stronger relations with Israel, which they said would “benefit the Venezuelan Jewish community.”

Photo Caption: Caracas, Venezuela

Photo Credit: Olga Berrios / Wikimedia Commons