Venezuelans in Florida hopeful for the future amid uncertainty in U.S. and their home country

Fredy Hernandez owns a gelato shop in Doral, Florida. He and his nephew Victor, who helps scoop, are among the thousands of Venezuelans who came to Florida to escape the misery and danger of their lives under former Venezuelan Presidents Nicolás Maduro and Hugo Chavez. In the aftermath of the U.S. raid that captured Maduro and his wife, they are among some of the most hopeful people in the U.S.

“There has to be a political and economic transformation, and it has to become a prosperous country as it was before,” Hernandez said of Venezuela’s post-Maduro future.

Both he and Victor had what’s known as Temporary Protected Status, which allowed them to stay in the U.S. legally. The Trump administration ended TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans last year, but many, including Hernandez and Victor, plan to remain in the U.S.

“His future is here,” Hernandez said when asked if Victor would have a brighter future in the U.S. or Venezuela.

Outside the gelato shop on Tuesday, CBS News noticed a group still waving flags in celebration. Asked who they felt should lead Venezuela moving forward, there was just one answer:

“It is unquestionable. It should be María [Corina Machado],” one man told CBS News.

Elsewhere, 26-year-old Luis Rodriguez told CBS News that life in Venezuela was worthless, until now.

“Today, it’s, it’s been a hope,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been a really — hope for all of us, for all Venezuelans. We’ve been afraid for more than 25 years,” he said. 

Many told CBS News the movement won’t end until there is democracy in Venezuela once again.