Hundreds of revelers chanted and celebrated outside a Brooklyn lockup as Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were hauled inside to face federal narco-terrorism charges.
The couple were greeted at the Brooklyn Detention Center with the boisterous crowd triumphantly applauding and chanting “down with the dictator,” “shame on you,” and “dirty scumbag!”
Venezuelan national Ronny Chirinos was one of more than 200 opponents who eagerly waited outside the prison for more than an hour in the bitter cold for the ousted dictator to arrive in cuffs.
“It’s such a joy to see the dictator fall, but the regime hasn’t fallen yet,” the 21-year-old, who relocated from Maracay to the Big Apple three years ago due to Maduro’s regime, told The Post.
“I want everything to fall. That there is no one left.”
Juskeily Matheeus, 27, and her 11-year-old son also rejoiced outside the Brooklyn prison, as passing cars honked in support and others screamed “Finally” in Spanish and “Viva Venezuela” while waving flags.
The jubilant mom said she was “celebrating the fall of Maduro!”
“I will never forget this day,” said 27-year-old Venezuelan Jesus Rodriguez.
“I came to see Maduro get punished for all the bad things he’s done for my country. I feel grateful for what Donald Trump did today for our country. I want to go back to be with my family. Now there is hope.”
A caring Venezuelan cop eventually calmed the crowd by reassuring that Maduro was inside the prison.
The officer leaned out of her van with a megaphone, telling the group in Spanish: He’s inside. Go home. Go back to your families. Hug them. He is inside.”
The tyrant and his wife were captured by US forces during a high-stakes overnight military operation in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas early Saturday morning.
The couple were dragged out of the South American country, landing in the Big Apple Saturday night. He was seen in a video at the Chelsea DEA office being perp walked and saying to the camera “Good Night. Happy New Year.”
Maduro and Flores were slapped with federal narco-terrorism charges and other offenses.
They are expected in federal court as early as Monday.
Read the full article here
