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Years of economic and social crisis, political repression, insecurity, and collapsing institutions forced millions of Venezuelans to leave their country and rebuild their lives abroad duringNicolás Maduro's rule.
"I left Venezuela in 2017 due to political persecution of my family. I was afraid and desperate and thought about leaving before something happened to me," Bárbara Briceño, who has lived in Mexico City for almost eight years, told CNN.
Maduro's nearly 13 years in power were marked by a deep economic, political and social crisis. His government was accused of authoritarianism, repression of the opposition and electoral manipulation.
Venezuela faced turmoil in oil markets, while years of financial mismanagement, corruption and sanctions decimated the economy and led to hyperinflation that sent prices soaring daily.
After months of tensions between the US and Venezuela, on January 3, President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores had been captured in aUS military operation. The ousted president was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy and other serious drug-related crimes. Maduro denies all accusations and claims they are politically motivated.
The news was initially celebrated by some members of the Venezuelan diaspora in different countries, but later caused uncertainty on two fronts: the appointment of Vice PresidentDelcy Rodríguezas acting president and the Trump administration's plans for the South American country.
Nearly 8 million Venezuelans left the country between 2014 and 2025. The numbers have made Venezuela the nation with the largest displacement crisis in the region. If exiled Venezuelans lived in a single country, they would have a population larger than Nicaragua (7 million), Paraguay (6.4 million), or El Salvador (6.3 million). It is estimated that 2,000 people left Venezuela every day between 2014 and 2025.
Venezuelan families 'are all over the world'
Jean Carlo Cruz, originally from Maracay, Aragua state, told CNN that when he left Venezuela in 2011 due to economic and security concerns, the situation had not yet fully deteriorated.
His parents and other relatives still live in Venezuela, but his siblings and many friends now live in other countries.
"The typical thing now is that Venezuelan families are everywhere, all over the world," he said.
After 15 years of living in Mexico City, Cruz said he can help his parents financially, feels free to express himself, and has access to services like internet, electricity, water and gas.
For Bárbara Briceño, born in Puerto Cabello, Carabobo state, being far from her family has been the hardest part of living in another country.
But still, she says, "The best decision was to leave the country before ending up like the political prisoners now."
On January 8, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez,announced the releaseof "a significant number" of detainees. More than 140 political prisoners have been released so far, according to the organizationForo Penal, and over 700 detainees remain.
"I never went back out of fear. I haven't been to Venezuela since 2017 and I long to return, to spend Christmas at home, family gatherings, it's priceless," Briceño said.
Venezuela's population decreased by roughly 13% between 2015 and 2024, going from more than 32.6 million inhabitants to just over 28.4 million, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the UN.
The drop was mainly due to migration, according to the2024 National Survey of Living Conditions (Encovi)— conducted by Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas — although it is also attributed to factors such as increased mortality and a significant drop in the birth rate.
Most migrants remain in Latin America
Eighty-seven percent of those who left Venezuela between 2014 and 2025 settled in a Latin American or Caribbean country, while only 11% went to the US and Europe,according to R4V,a UN mission that organizes assistance for Venezuelan refugees and migrants.
Most Venezuelans settle in other countries in the region due to "reasons of accessibility and family networks," according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Of the more than 7.9 million counted, about 6.9 million were in Latin America and the Caribbean as of November 2025, according to R4V.
Among the more than 2.8 million Venezuelans living in Colombia is Alejandro Méndez, 50. He left his homeland a decade ago with his wife and two children due to multiple factors.
"Freedom of expression started to become complicated, I had a good economic position and lost it, it became hard to get a spot in public schools and private institutions were very expensive. The problem of shortages also began, lack of products, power and water cuts," he told CNN.
Originally from Caracas, he chose Colombia because there was an opportunity to attain regular migration status, his sister-in-law already lived there, and he considered it a good economic and political option for Venezuelan migrants.
After arriving in Bogotá, Méndez and his wife began sharing their stories, and thus the social media communityCedrizuelawas born, a platform where they shared their experiences and how they adapted to their new life. "That's how a new virtual community of communication and integration was consolidated, because if there's one thing migrants need, it's to identify with each other," he explains.
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Laima Sanz and her family left Venezuela to start anew in Florida eight years ago as the country was experiencing a "deep political, social, and economic crisis," she told CNN.
"I didn't want my children to live like that, and the US offered good opportunities for life and education for my children," she said.
Although she faced the dilemma of starting over in a new country at 49, she now believes she and her husband made the best decision. "Here I am calmer, I can do activities at any time, something that was dangerous in Venezuela. My children live and study in another city, and we have all the services. That didn't happen in Caracas," she said.
Men and young people account for most Venezuelan refugees and emigrants
Men aged 15 to 49 represent the largest number of Venezuelans leaving the country. From 2017 to 2024, between 51% and 56% of those who emigrated were men, according toEncovi in 2024.
The demographics of migration flows from Venezuela have changed considerably over the years. By age group, the largest number of exiled Venezuelans between 2017 and 2021 were aged 15 to 29, and between 2022 and 2024, those aged 30 to 49 led the statistics, meaning that much of the Venezuelan population abroad was of working and voting age.
Statistics on education levels show an increase in the departure of Venezuelans with primary and secondary education — equivalent to high school — rising from 40% in 2017 to 73% in 2024, according to Encovi. In contrast, those with technical and university education dropped from 52% in 2017 to 26% in 2024.
The search for work has been the main reason for leaving the country even for those who had jobs (78% in 2024), but the percentage leaving Venezuela for family reunification reasons rose from 4% to 10% between 2017 and 2024.
Regarding their migration status, two out of three have regular status, either with a temporary residence permit (29%), as residents (21%), or with citizenship in their country of residence (12%). In contrast, 23% have an unknown status and 12% are in irregular status due to lack of documents or expired documents, according to Encovi.
Contribution to the economies of Venezuela and Latin America
Amid the years-long economic crisis that has marked Venezuela, remittances have become a growing source of income for many Venezuelan households, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.
The Venezuelan diaspora has become a lifeline for their families back home. A 2022 report cited by the IOM indicates that households receiving remittances have significantly lower poverty levels than those that do not.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan migration has also become a key factor in economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, contributing more than US$10.6 billion annually, mainly through spending on housing, food, education and health, according to an IOM report.
'The dictatorship is still in power'
Although the capture of Maduro marked a new chapter in Venezuela's history, much of the Venezuelan diaspora views the country's future with caution and skepticism after Rodríguez became acting president.
"The dictatorship is still in power, whether we like it or not," said Bárbara Briceño from Mexico City. "Delcy Rodríguez is no saint, she's the country's vice president for a reason. I understand it's part of the transition, but she's not someone Venezuelans trust," she added.
For that reason, Briceño wouldn't feel comfortable returning to Venezuela. "Not while they're still in power," she said.
For Alejandro Méndez, Rodríguez's assumption of power adds to his distrust and anxiety about whether there will be real change in the economic, political and social situation.
"There are days when I have a lot of hope that things will definitely change, there will be a transition, and we'll return to a democratic path. But there are also days when I think they're just buying time while the same people are in power," he said.
The current situation makes it hard to think about returning to the land they were forced to leave. For Venezuelans abroad, it's not just about Maduro's departure, but about the conditions in Venezuela and whether there will be real change.
"I'd love to return," says Jean Carlo Cruz, "but for that to happen, the conditions have to be optimal, because you live with the memory, the nostalgia for your country, but the country I left in 2011 no longer exists."
The desire to see a 'prosperous Venezuela'
When asked about their first impressions upon hearing of Maduro's capture, exiled Venezuelans described an emotional roller coaster between disbelief, happiness, confusion and uncertainty.
But some also saw it as a first step toward the change they want to see.
"It was a feeling of disbelief, I think that's what overwhelmed me, I thought 'someone finally helped us' because we've had 26 years of dictatorship and we didn't achieve it with protests, deaths, and all sorts of things," Briceño told CNN.
Cruz agrees: "If that hadn't happened, nothing would have happened. Because in Venezuela, everything was tried and it's a regime with absolute control."
Now, Venezuelans wonder if it's finally time to see their homeland prosper, without economic problems and with freedom of expression. A country where people enjoy basic services, a good education system and honest institutions.
"The Venezuela I dream of is a Venezuela with super strong institutions, that guarantees access to goods and services," Méndez said. "Where it doesn't matter who the prosecutor or president is, there's no messiah saving people, but institutions ensuring the country works."
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