Venezuelan advocate in NYC: Maduro capture 'a light at the end of the tunnel'

Niurka Meléndez, co-founder of the New York City-based Venezuelans and Immigrant Aid, fled her homeland in 2015 to escape what she said was rampant political persecution and violence perpetrated by the Maduro administration.

“It’s a bit hard for the international community to understand what we are facing,” Meléndez, of Manhattan, said in a phone interview Saturday. “It’s just a systematic violation of our basic human rights.”

Meléndez in 2016 co-founded Venezuelans and Immigrant Aid, a nonprofit that provides legal information to people seeking protection in the United States. The toppling of Maduro’s regime may serve as a beacon for Venezuelans and provide an opportunity to return to the country they fled due to political and social violence, she said.

“Today is just our voice being heard,” Meléndez said. “I believe that what happened today is a light at the end of the tunnel for many like me that deserve to visit their homeland.”

Meléndez said she hopes for “justice” against Maduro. She said moving forward Venezuela will have to be built on the premise that a similar regime “cannot happen ever again.”

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ

Joseph Ostapiuk covers the Town of Oyster Bay and the city of Glen Cove. He joined Newsday in 2023 after spending more than six years at the Staten Island Advance.