Before You Get Outraged: What People Are Missing About Venezuela — According to Someone From There

Today, in one of the more unexpected places to have a serious conversation about politics — a bar — I ended waiting on someone who grew up in Venezuela. As soon as I found out where he was from, I asked him what he thought about everything that’s been happening. I wanted the perspective of somebody that knows what it’s like to live there. I believe that if anyone gets to say whether what happened there is right or wrong, it’s someone who has actually lived there and especially when his entire family is still there.

He told me he didn’t mind me asking at all — in fact, he said he appreciated it. He told me that nearly everyone he knows back home is happy, and that probably 99% of Venezuelans feel relieved and hopeful. He was also clear that he isn’t a big fan of Donald Trump or a lot of the things he does. But he said disliking someone doesn’t mean you can’t admit when they do something good, or when they actually follow through on what they said they would do. Even if you don’t agree with someone overall, you can still acknowledge when they get something right.

He’s the only one from his family living in the United States. He hasn’t seen his family since 2013. Not because he doesn’t want to — but because once you go back, especially if you’re American or connected to the U.S., you would end up not coming back. He told me people are essentially kidnapped or forced to stay. And this isn’t something new. This has been happening for years.

That’s exactly why I wanted his thoughts. Lately, I’ve been watching people who aren’t from there, have never been there, and don’t have family there speak with the loudest outrage. Meanwhile, here’s someone who grew up there and is still reminded daily of what life was actually like. He told me he’ll catch himself bitching about small things sometimes — getting complacent — and then has to stop and remind himself that things here really aren’t that bad. That the fact he’s even allowed to complain is a privilege. Just this week, his mom told him their water was shut off three times.

He also explained that if police see something on your phone that isn’t allowed, they can arrest you. You aren’t even allowed to talk about or look up certain things — let alone criticize the government. Meanwhile, we have people here saying Trump is a dictator and that our rights and freedom of speech are already being taken away. Over there, nothing like that would be tolerated. You’d be thrown in jail — especially for speaking about the person in power the way people openly speak about Trump and criticize every move he makes.

So when I mentioned asking because of all the things I’ve been seeing — people saying this was wrong, that it was awful, that Venezuelans didn’t ask for this — his response was pretty blunt.

“These people have no idea what it’s like.”

He said the idea that this is suddenly a problem now, or that Venezuela was somehow fine until recently, is ridiculous. They haven’t had real control of their country for over 20 years. The only difference now is who is in office in the U.S. His question was simple and makes you wonder:

Where was the outrage for the last two decades?

I asked about oil, too. He said Russia and China had effectively been controlling it, and that even if the United States benefits in some way, the money will end up poured back into the people instead of disappearing into corruption. From his perspective, a lot of the people here who are upset don’t truly understand what daily life there has been for over 20 years. At one point he said, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” Nobody has to like the way all of this happened — but they shouldn’t pretend that Venezuelans weren’t suffering, or that people there aren’t relieved by this.

I asked him if his family was excited, and his answer was pretty blunt. He said there’s still a lot wrong over there. You can still get in trouble for things on your phone — and a lot of other things — because this just happened and not everyone tied to the dictatorship is gone yet. It’s not rainbows and butterflies. There’s still fear. There’s still instability. There’s still a long road ahead.

But getting Maduro out, in his words, was the best thing that’s happened in a long time.

By the time I finally left (an hour and a half after my shift ended because I needed to get home to the dogs), I thanked him for being willing and taking the time to talk to me about it. Politics isn’t something you talk about at a bar— for good reason — and I really appreciated how open he was. His friends told me they were all asking him the same things in their friend group chat they have, because they wanted his thoughts instead of just relying on what they were seeing in the media. And honestly, same. I value perspectives from people who have lived the consequences of these decisions — not just debated them from a distance.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had conversations like this. I’ve asked people from many different countries what it’s been like living here compared to where they came from. And so far, every single one has told me the same thing: it’s not awful the way it’s often made out to be. They’ve been able to build lives, pursue opportunities, and experience freedoms they never would’ve had back home. And the people insisting it’s “horrible for immigrants” usually have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.

I’m not saying and this done not mean the U.S. is perfect. It doesn’t mean every policy is right or every leader is beyond criticism. But when it comes to situations like this, the voices that matter most are the ones who lived through it. And more often than not, the loudest opinions come from people who have never had to lose everything to understand its value.

Take from this what you will. I’m not telling anyone what to think. I’m just sharing the perspective of someone who lived it — because those voices deserve to be heard. And I’m genuinely grateful I ran into this man today, and that he was willing to talk to me so openly.