Venezuelan communities around the world have been celebrating the removal of President Nicolas Maduro, while also questioning what the future now holds for their country.

Venezuelan migrants gathered in cities across Latin America and Europe after the United States announced it had led a military operation to detain Maduro, whose government presided over one of the largest mass migrations in modern history.

Since 2014, an estimated 7.7 million Venezuelans, around 20 percent of the country’s population, left their homeland because of economic collapse, food shortages, political instability, and humanitarian hardship.

The figures come from the United Nations International Organization for Migration.

Colombia has received the largest number of Venezuelan migrants with around 2.8 million people, followed by 1.7 million in Peru.

In Santiago, Venezuelan woman Khaty Yanez told Reuters people were celebrating what they saw as the end of a dictatorship.

“We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country,” she said.

Another migrant, Jose Gregorio, said the moment marked the end of years of struggle.

“After so many years, after so many struggles, after so much work, today is the day. Today is the day of freedom.”

In Lima, Venezuelans wrapped themselves in their national flag as they gathered in the city centre, while celebrations were also reported in Madrid and Buenos Aires.

But alongside the celebrations, many Venezuelans remain cautious about what comes next, with uncertainty around the transition of power and the country’s political future.

United States President Donald Trump said the U.S. intends to oversee the transition period, and has not ruled out the use of American forces if required to ensure what he called a safe and orderly process.

Prominent political commentator Ana Navarro said the outcome has brought hope to millions of exiled Venezuelans, while also warning about uncertainty over the next phase of United States involvement.

Navarro told ABC World News that although she criticised the way the operation was handled, she believed the removal of Maduro marked an end to years of suffering for Venezuelan citizens.

“I criticise his (Trump) method, but I am happy about the outcome,” Navarro said.

“Nicolas Maduro is a thug and a dictator. He has inflicted incredible suffering on the Venezuelan people. He has made millions of Venezuelans leave their country. Eight million Venezuelans are exiled all over the world.”

Navarro said Venezuelans in cities such as Miami and Madrid had taken to the streets in celebration after learning Maduro was no longer in power.

“What Venezuelans want after 25 years of oppression and dictatorship is freedom, democracy and justice,” she said.

However, Navarro expressed concern about comments made by United States President Donald Trump regarding oil interests and the role of American companies in Venezuela during the transition period.

“What Trump said in that press conference has me incredibly concerned,” she said. “He talked about running Venezuela and about US companies going in and paying themselves back through oil. I do not think Venezuelans want to be held as a US protectorate.”

Navarro also reflected on the emotional reaction among Venezuelans worldwide, comparing it to the feelings experienced by Cuban exiles following the death of Fidel Castro.

“It is relief,” she said. “The same kind of relief that so many Cuban exiles felt when they learned Fidel Castro had died.”

She said many Venezuelans still had relatives who had disappeared or were being detained under Maduro’s regime, and that the population had been unable to remove him on their own because the government had controlled every institution for decades.

Navarro also pointed out that Venezuela already had a legitimately elected opposition leadership, following the 2024 election in which Maduro lost to the party of opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, with Edmundo Gonzalez standing as the candidate after Machado was banned from running.

“The Venezuelan people did not vote to be a US protectorate,” Navarro said. “They voted for change, for democracy and for a future without dictatorship.”