A little over 48 hours after U.S. troops removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, top Florida Republicans say they are certain that democracy is coming to the South American nation.
But they admit there is no clear pathway to making that happen and that there could be "detours" along the way.
In Doral, home to one of the largest Venezuelan populations in the U.S., Florida's two U.S. GOP senators — Rick Scott and Ashley Moody — along with South Florida U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez spoke at a press conference Monday labelled "Celebrating a New Day of Freedom for Venezuela."
They all cautioned the enthusiastic audience that while they believed the U.S. government is intent on working to transition in Venezuela from an authoritarian government to a democracy, it will take time.
"The road ahead is not clear," said Giménez, a Cuban American lawmaker who represents all of Monroe County and the southwest portion of Miami-Dade County.
"But the road ahead may have some detours there that will lead to freedom, democracy, for the people of Venezuela, and I'm sure freedom and democracy to the people of Cuba and to the people of Nicaragua as well, and a new emphasis by the United States on maintaining democracy and peace in our hemisphere."
Sen. Scott said that while the world certainly looks different than it did three days ago while Maduro was still in office, the transition to a democratic government is "going to take a lot of work. It's going to take a lot of people in Venezuela to bust their butt to make this happen. But they want to make it happen."
READ MORE: The Delcy Deal: Will Rodríguez facilitate — or sabotage — Venezuela's return to democracy?
Maduro has been charged on four criminal counts that include narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in federal court in New York on Monday.
Florida Democratic response
Although many congressional Democrats have called Maduro a "brutal dictator" and "an authoritarian," they have also called Saturday's military actions illegal and outside the bounds of the president's constitutional authority.
In South Florida at least, removal of Maduro was met with support by some Democrats, although with caveats.
"The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuela's people, is welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled his violent, lawless, and disastrous rule," said South Florida U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a statement.
"It is my hope that this marks the end of a horrific chapter for the Venezuelan people," added Miami Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones in a statement released on Saturday.
"There is no question that Nicolás Maduro was a brutal dictator who oppressed the people of Venezuela for far too long. Miami-Dade County is home to a large Venezuelan population, many of whom fled their country to seek safety in the United States because of what they endured."
Both Wasserman Schultz and Jones criticized the Trump administration for bypassing Congress in removing Maduro, however.
Other Florida Democrats were more critical of the move.
"I shed no tears for Maduro's loss of power," said Central Florida U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost. "But I do shed tears for the destruction of our own democracy. Authoritarians like Donald Trump will always seek justification to break the law in order to start foreign wars for unclear reasons. Congress cannot give him an inch, or there will be much more reckless behavior that endangers lives and allows him to consolidate more power."
"Allegiance to the U.S. Constitution is not a quaint notion that can be ignored by Trump even when it comes to corrupt Nicolás Maduro," said Tampa Bay area U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. "Trump's justification for regime change and a takeover of Venezuela are unsubstantiated. Trump recently pardoned a convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernandez and has provided no evidence drug trafficking from Venezuela presents an imminent threat to America's national security."
Moody said Monday that that she has been disheartened to hear the criticism from Democrats, saying that "some of my colleagues immediately start being the mouthpiece of a criminal without understanding the historical facts that led us to this day, and without understanding the law that allows the United State to go after a drug trafficker that cooperates with cartels."
In her statement, Wasserman Schultz added that the military action now allows Venezuelans to seat "their true democratically elected president, Edmundo González."
González was the opposition candidate who ran against Maduro in 2024. While electoral authorities in Venezuela claimed Maduro had won a third term in office, then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was clear González won the most votes.
Respect for Maria Corina Machado
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, has also called on González to be recognized as the rightful leader of the nation. Some analysts have said Machado herself should now rule the country, but Trump seemed to slam the door on that possibility over the weekend, saying that while Machado was a "very nice woman," "she doesn't have the support within or respect within the country" to lead Venezuela.
That wasn't the attitude of the Florida Republicans who spoke Monday.
"She is an incredible woman. She has unbelievable courage," said Giménez, who added that he and fellow South Florida U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar recently travelled to Oslo to meet with Machado when she received the Nobel Prize. "Do I believe that she has the respect of the Venezuelan people? Absolutely. And she would have been elected the president of Venezuela had Maduro not kicked her off the ballot."
Scott added that Machado "will be part of the leadership of Venezuela, and I think she's well respected by Venezuelans."
Delcy Rodríguez, who has served as Venezuela's vice president since 2018, was sworn in Monday as the country's interim president. She is considered a longtime confidant of Maduro and initially criticized the U.S. operation as a violation of the United Nations' founding charter. However, on Sunday night she offered "to collaborate" with the Trump administration, as reported by the Associated Press.
Giménez said that while it wasn't ideal that Rodríguez was now in control, it's probably best for the situation right now.
"Am I happy that Delcy Rodríguez is there? No, I'm not happy … but understand this: The number one thing is to make sure that we don't have chaos and bloodshed in Venezuela. And so, you have to have a transition to democracy. That's going to take a while."
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
Copyright 2026 WLRN
