Venezuelan Activist Carmen Gimenez Reflects on Maduro’s Capture and Her Journey to America

“Sitting by the window, I saw that those who were my Venezuelan siblings were arming themselves, taking to the streets with rocks, trucks filled with guns, and knives,” said Carmen “Jackie” Jaqueline Gimenez. “The Minister of Finance told us that nothing was going on, but at that point the bombs outside weren’t letting us breathe properly.”

This incident helped solidify Hugo Chavez’s power, establishing the authoritarian regime that would dominate Venezuela for more than two decades. The situation changed dramatically on January 3, when U.S. forces captured Chavez’s successor, Nicholas Maduro, who now faces federal narco-terrorism, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses charges.

Gimenez, now a human rights activist and author of “Asylum Tales: FROM SUFFERING TO APPROVAL,” expressed joy at Maduro’s capture – a sentiment shared by slightly more than half of Venezuelans in the United States, according to polling by The Economist.

Her support for the capture reflects her conservative political views, which were shaped by her experiences under Venezuela’s authoritarian government. This political trajectory is common among many Latino immigrants from countries with similar regimes, particularly those from Cuba and Venezuela.

In South Florida, where over 40% of Cuban-Americans in the U.S. reside according to a 2025 Pew Research Center study, this political leaning is particularly evident. During the 2024 presidential election, 68% of Cubans living in Miami-Dade County voted for Trump. In Doral, often called ‘Little Venezuela,’ Trump won by more than 60%.

Gimenez fled Venezuela in 2008 following an arrest warrant for allegedly impersonating ALBA-TCP officials. She now lives in Hallandale Beach, Florida, about 30 minutes from Doral, where approximately 40% of residents identify as Venezuelan, according to 2025 city reports.

The circumstances surrounding her departure involve confusion between two similarly named organizations. ALBA-TCP (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty) is a regional alliance founded in 2004 by Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro. Gimenez claims she was involved with a separate entity called ALBA-NGO, which she describes as an organization founded in protest against Chávez’s policies.

Upon arriving in the U.S., Gimenez initially worked as a valet at Impark in Miami Beach but faced sexual harassment. This experience, combined with her background, led her to pursue a Master’s degree in Intercultural Human Rights at St. Thomas College of Law and become more involved in Broward County politics and the local Venezuelan community.

In 2012, she founded USA Refugees and Immigrants, a nonprofit providing free assistance to Venezuelans seeking asylum or Temporary Protected Status (TPS). When the U.S. government announced the end of the TPS program for Venezuelans on April 7, Gimenez acknowledged the challenges this created for many families but described it as an appropriate consequence for what she considers systemic abuse.

“Temporary Protection Status is temporary,” Gimenez explained. “Many times we tell people through my organization that this is temporary, to look for other opportunities, to continue their citizenship process — but they think their status will remain the same forever.”

In 2020, Gimenez ran for mayor of Hallandale Beach, receiving nearly 20% of the vote. During her campaign, she faced accusations of being a “chavista” or supporter of Hugo Chávez’s ideals – allegations she strongly denies. The confusion stemmed partly from her involvement with ALBA-NGO, which some mistakenly connected to the Maduro-led ALBA-TCP.

“What they confuse is that they think I am a chavista since I founded ALBA. But no, they are wrong,” Gimenez clarified. “I created my ALBA, and they created a project very different from mine.”

For Gimenez, experiencing democracy in the United States represented a profound change. She emphasizes that her experiences in Venezuela bear no comparison to life in America, noting she wouldn’t be able to speak as freely in her home country.

“There are failures [in the U.S.], there is no doubt, but the comparison, without a doubt, cannot be made,” said Gimenez. “There is absolutely no comparison to be made between democracy and true freedom [compared to Venezuela].”

Following Maduro’s capture, Gimenez sees the Venezuelan-American community as crucial for Venezuela’s future rebuilding efforts. “Venezuelan-Americans are who are going to rebuild Venezuela because nobody there is ready for that yet,” she asserted.

As Venezuela continues its struggle for democracy, stories like Gimenez’s highlight the complex intersections of immigration, politics, and identity that shape the experiences of many Venezuelan-Americans in South Florida.