MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- A whirlwind weekend results in Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife being captured by the U.S. Military.
Local Venezuelans are reacting to the move, and one local business owner tells ABC57 this is something that plenty of Venezuelans have been hoping for years.
Nicolas Maduro was in power for more than a decade, and during that time, his regime left many Venezuelans unhappy, and feeling like they were unable to criticize his government in any way.
"The most dangerous situation in Venezuela for Venezuelans is to think different, in socialism and communism, you don't have the opportunity to disagree with the government, and you can be punished. I have an uncle in jail in Venezuela just for thinking different," said Miguel Lizardo, a veteran of the Venezuelan Navy.
Lizardo has been living in the US for nearly ten years and says the fall of Maduro is something he wasn't sure would ever happen.
"I'm pretty sure most Venezuelans feel pretty happy right now with what's happening right now with capturing Maduro," said Lizardo.
Yuli Ortega owns Bululu Tropical and has been in the US for 25 years.
"Honestly, I'm so happy because we were waiting for this for years, and we tried different times, and we couldn't do it. I'm happy the way it went"
Ortega tells ABC57 she has family so fearful of criticizing the Maduro government, they delete many text messages from their phones. She hopes this is step one to make Venezuela a free country.