Lehigh Acres teen relieved as Venezuela's Maduro captured, family hopeful

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla.—A 19-year-old in Lehigh Acres is feeling a sense of relief as recent developments in Venezuela bring hope to his family, who are still living there. Diego Perez, who has lived in the area for eight years, shared his story with WINK News.

Perez revealed that the situation in Venezuela has been dire for years.

"The situation over there wasn't good at all, it was awful, like the economy wasn't good, there wasn't a lot of food, even the water, like we had times when water was available, like to wash clothes and stuff like that," said Perez.

When news of Nicolas Maduro's capture broke, Perez said his family in Venezuela was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Well, everyone was shocked. We couldn't believe it. But then it was, they're happy because he's not there anymore," said Perez.

He explained that daily life in Venezuela meant constant worry about necessities.

"Everything over there is expensive. And even if you work over there, you will not have any money, like enough money to live comfortably over there," said Perez.

Perez described the challenges of living without reliable power.

"The power, the power, the lights. Oh, my God, it was horrible over there. The power of like all of it, that was bad," said Perez.

Now, with Maduro no longer in power, Perez says his family wants to stay in Venezuela.

"No, they want to stay over there. Now they want to stay more," said Perez.

Despite ongoing uncertainty, Perez finds peace in the recent changes.

"Everything is better than having him as a president, now that he's not there anymore. Because a lot of people are worried about the oil and stuff like that, but like it doesn't matter anymore," said Perez.

Perez hopes this marks the first step toward stability for his family in Venezuela.