Venezuela

Autumn Billings | 1.9.2026 5:53 PM

In the day following the capture of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolás Maduro, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem proclaimed that "Venezuela today is more free than it was yesterday." As a result, Noem said she would not reinstate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, which the DHS rescinded in 2025. 

Under the TPS program, foreign nationals from specified countries experiencing a crisis are protected from deportation and given work authorization. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that Venezuelans who received TPS under the Biden administration "can now go home with hope for their country," and asserted that Venezuela will now have "peace, prosperity, and stability." 

Yet for many Venezuelan nationals living in the United States, the prospect of going home is not as rosy as Noem and McLaughlin make it seem. 

"Venezuelans are happy, but they're not celebrating," Ana María Diez tells Reason. Diez is the cofounder and president of Coalición por Venezuela, a Venezuelan civil rights network. She fled to Spain in 2022 after being targeted by the Maduro regime for her advocacy. While removing Maduro from power was a huge step for Venezuelans who had given up on the idea of justice, it's too early to say the country is on a path to prosperity,........

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