TULSA, Okla. — Upwards of 500 people convened inside St. Pius X Church in east Tulsa on July 28 to sing, pray, and hope for change in Venezuela.
Sunday marked Election Day for the home country of most people who gathered at lunchtime. Many donned signature Venezuela attire, such as soccer and baseball national team jerseys and cultural dresses. Others brought flags or hats symbolizing the Bolivarian Republic.
Of the more than half-million Venezuelan nationals who have moved to the U.S. amid the biggest mass exodus and brain-drain in the history of the western hemisphere, none are able to vote in the presidential election Sunday while on American soil. In 2018, President Donald Trump severed diplomatic ties with Venezuela and piled added sanctions on its already-debilitated economy and President Nicolas Maduro's administration.
Maduro has held power in the country since 2013, following the death of President Hugo Chavez. In 2018, Maduro won reelection in a vote many countries, including the U.S., rejected as a sham.
Before and after the 2018 election, millions protested against the regime, resulting in police brutality that killed or imprisoned thousands and helped force around seven million people to flee.
Since taking office in 2021, President Biden has not reestablished ties, preventing what many Venezuelan citizens in Tulsa wished they do Sunday: vote for leading opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, is seen as a surrogate for longtime opposition lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running in late 2023.
Many in attendance Sunday told 2 News they wish to return to their original home if a new regime comes to power, but some said they have also prospered as Tulsans.
As of Sunday evening, many are still in line to vote in Venezuela and a winner has not been announced.
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