Venezuelan migrants around the world erupted in celebration Saturday following the US-led deposition of President Nicolas Maduro, whose government oversaw one of the world's largest migration exoduses in recent history.
Chants celebrating Maduro's capture were heard in the streets of Chile's capital, where Venezuelans gathered to share their joy.
"We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country," said Khaty Yanez, a Venezuelan woman who has spent the last seven years in Chile.
"My joy is too big," her compatriot Jose Gregorio said. "After so many years, after so many struggles, after so much work, today is the day. Today is the day of freedom."
Since 2014, some 7.7mn Venezuelans or 20% of the population have left the country, unable to afford food or seeking better opportunities abroad, according to the UN International Organisation for Migration.
Neighbouring Colombia has received the largest share of the diaspora, with around 2.8mn Venezuelans, followed by 1.7mn in Peru, according to the R4V platform, a group of regional non-governmental organisations (NGOs) assisting migrants and refugees from Venezuela set up by the UN migration agency.
In Peru's capital Lima, dozens of Venezuelans gathered, many wrapped in their country's flag, to mark Maduro's deposition.
Venezuelan migrant Milagros Ortega, whose parents are still in Venezuela, said she hoped to go back.
"Knowing that my dad was alive to see the fall of Nicolas Maduro is very emotional. I would like to see his face," she said.
Peruvian President Jose Jeri said on X that his government would facilitate the immediate return of Venezuelans, regardless of their immigration status.
For years, the US was a haven for Venezuelans but many were branded criminals and forced to seek refuge elsewhere during President Donald Trump's second term.
In Spain, thousands of people gathered at central Madrid's Puerta del Sol and applauded as they watched Trump's press conference live.
In the afternoon, groups of Venezuelans are also expected to gather to celebrate in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires.
After the initial joy, doubts about Venezuela's future also set in, as Venezuelans abroad wondered what the future would hold for their country and its citizens.
Andres Losada, who has lived in Spain for three years and is among the 400,000 Venezuelans residing in the country according to official data, said he is struggling between worry and joy about the situation in Venezuela.
"Although what people are going through in Caracas is tough, I believe that beyond that there is a light that will lead us to freedom," he added.
Venezuelan security forces patrolled largely empty streets at dawn in the capital, Caracas, Saturday.
Most residents stayed home, devouring the latest information on their phones, while some went to stock up on groceries in case they need to hunker down for a prolonged period.
A lingering smell of explosives hung over Caracas where a few hundred Maduro supporters gathered to clamour for his freedom.
"I felt the explosions lift me out of bed. In that instant I thought: 'My God, the day has come,' and I cried," Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of the city of 6mn people, told AFP.
The strikes started around 2am local time, with dozens of detonations some at first mistook for fireworks.
Windows rattled from the shockwaves and residents rushed out onto terraces and balconies as military aircraft zoomed overhead.
"It was horrible, we felt the planes flying over our house," said a resident of the Coche neighbourhood, near the city's largest military complex, which was targeted in the raid.
Residents saw columns of smoke rising from several parts of the city, which was soon cloaked in a fog-like haze.
Witnesses spoke of bombings in La Guaira, Caracas's airport and port, in Maracay to the west, and in Higuerote to the east.
A few hundred supporters gathered in Caracas to demand news of their leader's fate.
"Long live Nicolas Maduro," echoed a rally cry from a hastily-erected stage with speakers blaring revolutionary music.
"Long live!" retorted the crowd.
Katia Briceno, a 54-year-old university professor, came out to protest what she described as US "barbarism”.
"How is it that a foreign government comes into the country and removes the president? It's absurd!" she told AFP.
Apart from the protesters, there were few Venezuelans out and about, and just an occasional car on the usually bustling streets.
Those who did venture out did so under the watchful eye of black-clad agents patrolling the centre with long guns.
Many stores were shuttered in the hours after the attack, while queues formed at others that were letting people in a few at a time.
Damage from the explosions was mostly limited to military installations, where vehicles stood riddled with bullet impacts, others smouldering and charred.
