Venezuelan Exiles Unsure about Returning Home

Years of economic and social crisis, political repression, insecurity and collapsing institutions forced millions of Venezuelans to leave their country and rebuild their lives abroad during Nicolás Maduro’s rule, Karen Esquivel reported for CNN.

Years of mismanagement, corruption, and sanctions decimated the Venezuelan economy, while hyperinflation sent prices soaring.

Nearly 8 million Venezuelans left the country between 2014 and 2025, making Venezuela the nation with the largest displacement crisis in the region.

If exiled Venezuelans formed a single country, its population would exceed that of Nicaragua, Paraguay or El Salvador. An estimated 2,000 people left Venezuela every day during that period.

“I left Venezuela in 2017 due to political persecution of my family. I was afraid and desperate,” Bárbara Briceño, who has lived in Mexico City for nearly eight years, told CNN.

Maduro’s nearly 13 years in power were marked by economic collapse, political repression and allegations of electoral manipulation.

Years of mismanagement, corruption and sanctions decimated the economy, while hyperinflation sent prices soaring.

Jean Carlo Cruz, originally from Maracay, said when he left Venezuela in 2011 the crisis had not yet fully unfolded. After 15 years in Mexico City, he said he can support his parents financially and enjoys basic services and freedoms.

“The typical thing now is that Venezuelan families are everywhere, all over the world,” he said.

For Briceño, the hardest part has been separation from her family. Still, she said, “The best decision was to leave the country before ending up like the political prisoners now.”

Many exiles continue to weigh whether returning home is possible.