The unfolding situation in Venezuela carries "deep and complex emotions" for Australia's small but tight-knit Venezuelan community, who are gathering to discuss what is happening in their home country.
According to the 2021 Census, 6,627 Venezuelan-born people live in Australia, including 2,183 people in NSW and 1,572 in Victoria.
The United States says it will temporarily "run" Venezuela after capturing Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during a large-scale military strike overnight.
The strike, the legality of which has been questioned by international law experts, followed months of escalating military tension as US President Donald Trump repeatedly accused Mr Maduro of operating a "narco-terrorist" regime under a corrupt and illegitimate dictatorship.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on X that the Australian government was monitoring developments in Venezuela."Australia has long held concerns about the situation in Venezuela, including the need to respect democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms," he said.
"We continue to support international law and a peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people."
'Was quite harrowing'
Melbourne's Venezuelan community gathered at a restaurant in the suburb of Footscray on Sunday afternoon.
Genesis Lindstrom, the president of the Venezuelan Association of Australia (VAA), said watching events unfold while communicating with family back in Venezuela in real time was distressing.
"Honestly, it was a little bit shocking," she said at the gathering.
"The intervention or any military action was something that we have been hearing rumours about.
"But to actually start receiving a flurry of messages on WhatsApp and social media with videos about helicopters flying around, and getting messages from my family that they are filming from their window was quite harrowing, to be honest."
Her family was safe, "but they went through some pretty scary moments hearing explosions right outside their apartment block".
As the threat of further military action and political uncertainty grips the country, Ms Lindstrom said the community would continue to balance fear for their family back home with hope.
"It's something that the Venezuelan diaspora has been experiencing over the past two decades," she said.
"We are somewhat familiar with the heartbreak ... [of seeing] our family suffer on the other side of the world and not being able to do anything but send good wishes and pray for them and send money where possible."
The community event, she said, was about having a space to gather together in a familiar environment.
"Whether they want to vent and talk about the situation and what’s worrying them, or whether that’s the last thing they have on their mind and they just want to be around that familiar cultural feeling," she said.
She stressed that among the Venezuelan diaspora there was a range of feelings about the US's actions, but added that the hope for a democratic Venezuela unified the community.
"What we do call for is a democratic transition of power, [which is] something we have been fighting for [for] two decades."
The VAA's vice-president, Elena Zurbo, said she was fearing for her relatives in Caracas after her aunt called to tell her a bomb had landed near her cousin's home.
"It was shocking and my legs were wobbling. I couldn't believe it," she said.
Ms Zurbo said that she too wanted to see an end to the repression committed on the Venezuelan people by the Maduro regime.
"We elected our president and vice-president in July 2024 and that was the point when we wanted the transition to happen and the regime to recognise this election and the will of the Venezuelan people and step out," she said.
"But they didn't. They did the opposite. They started repressing everyone, getting lots of political prisoners without trial, no human rights and torture. So we just want this to be over."
Raul Sanchez-Urribarri, a lawyer and academic at Melborne's Latrobe University who grew up in Venezuela, said many Venezuelans were feeling both trepidation and hope.
"Certainly, not having Nicolás Maduro in power anymore opens new possibilities for the country and many people are hopeful that those will be for the better," he said.
He said he believed many Venezuelans would have strong reservations about the Trump administration's actions and would fear the possibilities for further violence in the country.
This, however, would be "enmeshed" with how Venezuelans felt about the authoritarian figure of Maduro.
"I think that's what makes it so different to capture," he said.
"Because it's one of those situations that is certainly quite ambivalent. People have different takes about how exactly that combination of feelings emerges.
"The vast majority of the diaspora have very strong negative views on Nicolás Maduro and they reflect also the views about Nicolás Maduro within Venezuela."
Mr Sanchez-Urribarri was educated in Venezuela and worked as a lawyer there for several years prior to moving to Australia.
After migrating, he would travel back there regularly to see friends and family until he felt he could no longer return.
"Last year was for the first time the year that I said I can't really go to Venezuela in good conscience without thinking that something could happen to me," he said.
"And that was the level of deterioration. Until then I had always risked it.
"Not only for professional reasons, but ultimately personal ones. I love Venezuela. It's a fantastic place and I really hope [for] the best for my country."
A relief that change is coming
Alberto Escobar, also in Melbourne, says the US involvement in Venezuela is a "respite" after years of turmoil in his home country.
"I can't make any political comments on the internal politics of the US, but for us, it's a respite," Mr Escobar said.
"We're actually relieved to see that there is some change coming, especially since the last election, which was ridiculously stolen."
Mr Escobar left Venezuela in 2013, over security fears, including many kidnappings in his area, and petrol shortages.
He and his family had also signed a petition to remove the then-president, Hugo Chavez, from office.
"We were on those lists, and those lists became public. At that moment, it didn't mean persecution, but we knew that was coming at some point," says the 41-year-old, who was also blacklisted from government jobs.
Fears for friends visiting home country
After the latest developments, Mr Escobar says he's worried for some Melbourne friends visiting their families in Venezuela, even though none of his relatives still live in Venezuela.
"I'm very afraid for them, for their situation," he said.
"That's a risk that unfortunately they knew they might take because they needed to see their family. And I completely understand that."
Mr Escobar has been told the country's borders have been closed, so he says he's worried his friends may not have been able to leave.
The prime minister says Australians in Venezuela requiring assistance can contact the 24/7 emergency consular assistance team at +61 2 6261 3305 from anywhere in the world or 1300 555 135 from within Australia.
Government seeking more information
Assistant minister Rebecca White said the federal government was "working to understand the position of the US administration".
"The Australian government was not involved in this. This was a unilateral decision made by the American administration. It's not something that we've been consulted on," she said.
"I understand that we're working with international counterparts to get more information about the situation.”
Ms White said the situation was evolving quickly, and that the government wanted a "democratic outcome" for the people of Venezuela.
"Ultimately, we want peace in the region and we want the will of the Venezuelan people to be upheld."
Like many Western leaders, Mr Albanese's response to the US incursion was muted.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge condemned the strikes in Venezuela at a press conference on Sunday, saying the "attack" and "kidnapping" of Venezuela's president were a gross breach of international law.
"The United States under Donald Trump has now engaged in repeated gross breaches of international law," the Greens Foreign Affairs spokesperson said.
"This attack on Venezuela is illegal and unless Australia and like-minded countries speak out it emboldens these kinds of actions."
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it was making "urgent enquiries" to determine whether any Australians had been impacted.
Bonded by trauma
After 13 years of being away from his birth nation, Mr Escobar says he would love to one day return to his "beautiful country" — though renewing his native passport has been next to impossible.
"It breaks my heart," he said of its ongoing issues.
He and a friend — both musicians — have created a network of Venezuelan bands in Australia to stay connected and promote their culture.
"We're not that many in Australia … especially in Melbourne. We're a very small community, but I think we're a very close one," he said.
"Most of us share at least one horrible story from Venezuela. Some of them are really, really bad. Some of them are just bad.
"I think mine is not that bad. It's just we got out out of fear, and nothing really bad happened to us. So I consider myself one of the lucky ones."
