DORAL, Florida — The party that erupted at dawn on Saturday had been a raucous one, with hundreds of Venezuelans spilling into the streets around El Arepazo restaurant in Doral, Florida, to rejoice in the capture of their country’s former dictator, Nicolás Maduro. It made sense: Doral, an upscale suburb of Miami, is said to have the largest population of Venezuelans and Venezuelan descendants in the U.S., and El Arepazo is a—no, the—central gathering place for the community.
The word was that the celebration wasn’t done yet. There was going to be another party, on the same street corner, on Sunday afternoon. Sure enough, by the time I arrived a few hours before the party, the cops had already blocked off a street for the revelers who would undoubtedly soon be there, and were preventing anyone from driving into the El Arepazo parking lot unless they needed gas. (The restaurant doubles as a gas station and car wash.)
El Arepazo, which proudly displays Donald Trump signs in its storefront windows, was pretty quiet. Outside, reporters from Fox News and MS NOW were doing occasional hits. There weren’t many people to interview yet. An ambulance arrived and parked in the back—just in case. People were selling Venezuelan flags, gimme caps, and T-shirts—and, of course, MAGA hats—including an elderly man who said his name was Pedro. “How’s business?” I asked.
