Score of Venezuelans scattered across Latin America cautiously watch what comes next

LIMA: Almost immediately after US forces deposed Venezuela’s president, officials from Washington to Lima, Peru, began encouraging some of the 8 million Venezuelans who have scattered themselves across the Americas over more than a decade to go home. But that idea had not even crossed the mind of Yanelis Torres.

The 22-year-old graphic designer was too busy printing T-shirts with images of captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro overlaid with phrases like “Game Over.” Her clients in Lima’s largest textile market were snatching them up within hours of the news of Maduro’s downfall.

Settled or undocumented, many of the millions of Venezuelans spread across Latin America received news of Maduro’s capture with joy, but also caution, especially after hearing US President Donald Trump say that he would work with Maduro’s vice president, now interim President Delcy Rodriguez, rather than the opposition.

Despite leaders in Peru and Chile echoing US suggestions to return to Venezuela, the diaspora does not appear ready to do so. Venezuela’s economy remains a shambles, and with the exception of Maduro and his wife, the government remains in place.

“I have a lot of things here,” Torres said from her shop in a bustling Lima neighbourhood, adding it would take time for things to change in Venezuela. “You’ve got to keep an eye on it, know what’s going on, but not lose hope.”

There are nearly 7 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Latin America. Colombia tops the list with 2.8 million, followed by Peru with 1.5 million.

A further estimated 1 million are in the United States, according to the most recent data from R4V, a network tracking the diaspora and coordinated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration.

They were driven out by compounding political and economic crises.

An estimated 8 in 10 people in Venezuela live in poverty in a country that was once one of Latin America’s wealthiest, with the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Some have found work or started small businesses, while others tried to reach the US or bounced from country to country.