‘I am Venezuelan – we’ve been waiting many years for America to get rid of Maduro’ | World | News
Vito Masi is a proud Venezuelan who couldn’t believe what he heard when he watched the news this morning. He heard with astonishment that the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, had been deposed in a daring raid by US Delta force troops early on Saturday.
The 62-year-old engineering professor has been waiting for more than 20 years to see the end of the Chavez and Maduro regimes, which he describes as a criminal gang. “We’ve been waiting for years for someone to do something,” he explained. “The fact that America is the only country that can help us should not stop me or other Venezuelans from opening our hands and saying ‘you are very welcome’.”
The Venezuelan dictator was kidnapped from his home at 02:01 local time, before he had time to reach his steel-reinforced safe haven. The Pentagon said more than 150 planes were used to fly a landing team to the capital, Caracas, and that local government officials were helping the United States monitor Maduro’s position in the leadership.
While many Western leaders have little sympathy for Maduro, some question the legality of the military operation.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that his country “does not recognize” the Maduro regime, but “will not recognize an intervention that violates international law.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government was taking time to decide whether US actions violated international law.
Many are skeptical Donald TrumpHe lays out his reasons for ordering regime change, arguing that the US President is only interested in purchasing the country’s oil and minerals.
James Talarico, a Democratic state representative from Texas, stated in his social media post that Trump promised oil executives a “big deal” if they donated $1 billion to his campaign.
“He gave them Venezuela, which today is home to the world’s largest oil reserves,” he wrote. “This new war is not only illegal and reckless; it is deeply corrupt.”
But none of this worries Vito; Vito says it’s natural for Americans to want something in return for their intervention.
“These guys are helping us,” he said. “Are they doing this because they love Venezuelans or because there are other interests?
“Of course there are economic interests. But after we gave Chavez the opportunity to change our country, he gave it to other countries, the Russians, the Iranians and the Chinese. Look how my country is now, completely destroyed.”
Vito’s family moved to Venezuela from the Basilicata region of southern Italy in the 1950s to escape grinding poverty. Like many other Italian and European refugees, they helped build and create a prosperous country, and the family eventually started their own successful business.
But increasing corruption and crime eventually persuaded Vito and his wife, Maria Antonietta, to leave for Canada in 1998.
Vito admits that he voted for Hugo Chavez through the Venezuelan Embassy in Toronto in that year’s election, believing his promises to fix the country, but soon regretted his decision.
“Chavez lied to me. He said he would help everyone, but he didn’t.”
Instead, he argued, both Chavez and Maduro run the country as a private fiefdom for their own benefit and that of a small select group of government supporters, with the majority living in poverty and the minority growing rich.
During a recent visit to Venezuela, he described how his brother could not believe that some stores were selling luxury items from Louis Vuitton and Cartier.
“This makes no sense in a country where people are starving, eating from garbage and you don’t even have clean water in your home,” he said. “How can you have such a luxury?”
Vito says his main concern right now is the rebuilding of his shattered country, and he is determined to do his part in its renewal.
“My goal is to see the reconstruction of my country and the reconstruction of Venezuelans,” he said.
“The only way to find prosperity and peace is to remember that Venezuela is not just for a small group of people. Venezuela belongs to Venezuelans, it belongs to all of them. And everyone should have access to education, healthcare and a life of dignity.
“Even if I can’t go there, I’m still willing to help my country. And that’s what every Venezuelan needs to do right now. ‘What can I do for my country? How can I help my country right now?’ “They should ask.”
