New Yorkers with ties to Venezuela are reacting to the ousting of the country’s leader Nicolás Maduro.
He pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other federal charges in Lower Manhattan on Monday.
With Maduro out, President Donald Trump says the United States will “run” Venezuela for the foreseeable future until a transition of power can take place. This, despite Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president to Maduro, being sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president.
Jesús Aguais, the executive director and founder of Aid for AIDS International, joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Monday to discuss what this means for Venezuelans in New York and beyond.
“Venezuelans are thrilled that Maduro has been captured. Maduro is a criminal,” he said. “But what they also are is confused because the Venezuelan dictatorship is not led just by one leader. I always said the Venezuelan dictatorship is a monster with five heads. And they took one head. And that one head is Celia and Maduro.”
Aguais is a Venezuelan immigrant who helps newly arrived asylum seekers in the city, and was also on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s transition committee on immigrant justice.
Tap the video player above to watch the interview.