Luciano Aez spent the first 16 years of his life growing up in Caracas, Venezuela's capital city."By the time I was 16, and by the time I was closing to leave, my mom and I were living in the house where water would come for 30 minutes a day, at 6 p.m. every night," Aez said.Aez said that, amidst the love and family, there were constant fears for safety."I lived in a country where it was so dangerous that when I wanted to go to a friend's house, I would have to stay until 6 a.m., until the light came on, because it was so dangerous at night," Aez said.Throughout the years, many of his family members left for other countries. "My dad left to Peru, my sister left to Spain, my uncles left to the US, to Peru, to all different countries," Aez said.Then, in December of 2020, Aez and his mother made that same decision, moving to the U.S. The two joined his stepfather in Cincinnati.Watch to hear from a young man raised in Venezuela following the capture of the nation's president: Local Venezuelan student shares story following US operation in VenezuelaFast forward just about five years, and Aez is spending the holidays with family in Florida. The 21-year-old told me family was awoken by an uncle back in Venezuela early Saturday morning."My uncle called at about 1 a.m. from here and he would just scream that they were bombing. He didn't know who it was or what was exactly going on, but it was just a bunch of explosions," Aez said.From there, it was difficult for his family to get information on what was taking place, according to Aez. Eventually, through online updates and official announcements, Aez and his family learned that the United States conducted an operation to capture President Nicols Maduro and take him into U.S. custody. Maduro's wife was also flown out of the country."We were happy in a way. We've been wanting a change for so long, and this is the first time we can see something really happening," Aez said.However, the Xavier student told me he has lots of concerns for what's next for Venezuela."I think we are happy with the US government, with the help that they are giving. Concern about the sovereignty of Venezuela, too, you know. We want to be a free country. We want to be able to make our own decisions. But at the same time, we believe that we can have such a good relation, a partnership with the US," Aez said.In the days that followed, there have been protests over the U.S. government's involvement, right here in Cincinnati.I asked Aez if there was anything he felt people in the United States didn't understand about the situation in his home country."I think it's easy to talk when you haven't lived in that situation. We wanted to do it ourselves, we wanted to be able to change the regime ourselves, but we couldn't," Aez said.Now he is hopeful for a brighter future for Venezuela."Im not the one to say what is exactly going to happen, but whatever it is, I hope its the right thing for the country and I hope that God is on our side," Aez said.Aez is currently a permanent resident but said he hopes to become a citizen soon. He is also hoping for a time when he'll be able to visit family in Venezuela often. ...read more read less