ORLANDO, Fla. — As the political crisis in Venezuela stretches on, thousands of Venezuelans continue to flee the country – many moving to Central Florida.
- Many Venezuelans relocating to Central Fla. amid political crisis
- William Diaz is helping Venezuelans, Venezuelan immigrants
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William Diaz left Venezuela for Orlando 30 years ago to live a better life. Now, through his radio station – Mas 100.7 FM – he works to educate tens of thousands of other Venezuelan immigrants in Florida.
He’s also collecting medical supplies to send to Venezuela, where the political crisis has limited people’s access to food and medicine.
Although Diaz says he’s happy U.S. leaders are pushing for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step aside, he hopes they work with other countries before major intervention.
“Canada, Columbia, Chili, Brazil, Costa Rica — there’s a lot of countries that are in a position to help and have a multi-lateral force,” he said.
Five things to know about the crisis in Venezuela:
- More than 2 million Venezuelans have fled the country in the last two years.
- Most have fled across the border into Columbia, Brazil, and Peru.
- About 10,000 immigrants fled from Venezuela to Central Florida in the last couple of years.
- President Nicolas Maduro’s election last year has been called into question over claims of a fraudulent election.
- President Donald Trump is urging Maduro to step down, accusing him of being a dictator who has implemented socialism in Venezuela.