LIers with ties to Venezuela watch with hope, skepticism after Maduro capture

As President Nicolás Maduro was taken into custody, Venezuelan Long Islanders kept up with the dramatic situation as it unfolded on television screens, social media and WhatsApp message chains with family members in the country's capital, Caracas.

Robert Reyna, of Baldwin, said he’s been in constant contact with an aunt and cousin in the Caracas area and watching the news with “tempered excitement” after Maduro was captured.

“I'm happy that this is an opportunity that could potentially provide a path for the country to create economic stability, political and social stability. It's a country that has been plagued by high crime rates over these years, and that has always been very concerning,” Reyna, 50, said in an interview Saturday.

But Reyna said he has some “built-in skepticism” over the change. “The political situation there in Venezuela has always been very volatile, so now I’m just hoping for the best.”

Reyna, whose father immigrated to New York from Venezuela in the 1960s, said he last visited in the early 1990s and hasn’t been back due to the instability and travel restrictions. He said he’d love to one day take his wife and daughter to visit.

For now, though, Reyna said he’s most concerned about the geopolitical and economic impacts after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will "essentially" run the country until a "proper transition takes place."

“I also just want to make sure that this transition of power that’s going to take place will be one that keeps the Venezuelan people in the forefront of any decision,” he said.