Countless questions remain about what happens next in Venezuela following the deadly U.S. military airstrikes that resulted in the capture of President Nicols Maduro, a move that has drawn both praise and protest from Coloradans connected to the issue.On Monday, Maduro appeared inside of a Manhattan courtroom and pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges. According to the Associated Press, Maduro said through a courtroom interpreter that I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has asserted the U.S. will "run" Venezuela, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio implied the U.S. will only enforce an existing "oil quarantine" in the country.Despite an uncertainty about how exactly this will unfold on an international scale, Sue Montoya is simply grateful Maduro is no longer in Venezuela."I was so happy, because we've been waiting for this for the last 26 years. And finally, I couldn't believe it I mean, it was surreal," said Montoya, who is originally from Venezuela.Montoya is the president and founder of SOS Venezuela Denver, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Venezuelan community in Colorado."Finally now, today, we see that Maduro and his wife have been brought to justice and that's something that we were praying for," said Montoya. "I'm so thankful that God gave me the life, you know, to be alive in this moment.Montoya told Denver7 the "tragedy" in her home country began with Hugo Chvez, who was elected president in 1998 and passed away in 2013. Before his death, Chvez told the public his successor ought to be Maduro.Things were bad, but once Maduro took over, things started getting worse," said Montoya.According to the U.S. Department of State, Maduro declared victory in a presidential election in 2018. By 2019, the National Assembly of Venezuela invoked the constitution and declared "Maduro had usurped power and was not the president."In 2024, Maduro "again declared himself the victor" in a Venezuelan presidential election, "despite evidence to the contrary," according to the U.S. federal government.In both 2019 and 2024, the U.S. refused to recognize Maduro as the legitimately elected president of Venezuela.The U.S. Department of State claimed Maduro "helped manage and ultimately lead the Cartel of the Suns, a Venezuelan drug-trafficking organization comprised of high-ranking Venezuelan officials."According to the New York Times, the Justice Department has backtracked when it comes to claims about Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, in the latest indictment against Maduro.Still, Montoya believes the capture of Maduro by the U.S. is not connected to oil reserves in Venezuela.People cannot protest because they're still afraid. So, it wasn't against Venezuela or the Venezuelans. It was against a criminal, a narcotrafficker at the head of the Cartel de los Soles. So, it had nothing to do with oil. That's just ridiculous," said Montoya.Jordan Garcia, the program director for the American Friends Service Committee's Immigrants Rights Program, sees the issue differently."I do think that that, you know, the fact that Venezuela sits on that large of a reserve of oil is a main motivating factor for the Trump administration," Garcia said. He said a few things about drugs, and still has consistently cut drug treatment and drug addiction support systems throughout the United States over and over and over again so we know that it is not really caring about people who are dealing drugs.Garcia described the capture of Maduro as "alarming" and is concerned about what will happen in the future.We absolutely witnessed what I would say is a unilateral action against a sovereign nation to change their leadership," said Garcia. "I think that the concerning part for us is that Nicols Maduro really does need to be held accountable for the human rights abuses that he's perpetrated against the Venezuelan people. But this kind of capture or kidnapping is not a way to actually facilitate true accountability, and that real change of power needs to come from the Venezuelan people.Without much of a plan for Venezuela being publicized, Garcia is worried about what is happening behind closed doors."It makes me feel nervous about human rights abuses continuing to happen, and especially because this sort of disruption, it does often cause people to migrate from the place that they call home," said Garcia.On Nov. 7, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem terminated the Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Under such status, immigrants in America can apply for work permits.Denver7 asked Garcia and Montoya if they believed Maduro's capture would change anything when it comes to TPS and Venezuelan immigrants.We would urge the US government to extend Temporary Protected Status to more people from Venezuela. Right now, people from Venezuela are experiencing record deportation and detention, and we would love to see that stop and love to see them see some relief for those people," said Garcia.It's going to have an impact," Montoya said. "I think it's too premature to to say, 'Okay, this is what's going to happen,' because there is a process also for the TPS... Once the democracy is back to our country, I'm telling you, a lot of people, they will return to Venezuela."On Monday, Denver7 requested an interview with Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and instead received the following statement: Maduro is a brutal dictator who oppressed millions of Venezuelans and caused a great amount of suffering, however it's deeply concerning that days after this operation Congress, Venezuelans, and the American people are still in the dark on what a sustainable path forward is. This administration must transparently work with Congress to ensure this action does not create more international instability, and cause more harm to the people of Venezuela. While I shed no tears at the fall of this corrupt dictator, the world cannot afford another foreign misadventure veiled in secrecy. ...read more read less