>>Good morning and welcome to Global Perspectives, I'm David Dumke.

Today we are joined by William Diaz who is the founder of Casa de Venezuela.

We'll talk about some of the events affecting that population and that country.

Thank you for joining us, William.

>>Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

>>William, Central Florida is home to 170,000 Venezuelans who have left the country for a variety of reasons, primarily economic.

Tell us how that population has done and where it stands today.

>>Well, Venezuelans do not used normally to immigrate, but exactly due to the economic and political turmoil within the country start generating an exodus.

And we may said as we speak that there is a little bit over 1 million Venezuelans in the whole United States.

Out of those, we have about 170,000 in Central Florida.

But there is four countie with the highest concentration of Venezuelan numbe one is Miami-Dade County, then Broward County, then our Orange County.

And in first place, Harris County in, Texas.

>>We're talking about Venezuela as a country of about 30 million people, but there are 8 millio Venezuelans today living abroad.

Where are the other Venezuelans living right now?

>>Basically the majority of the first place we meet said in Colombia, that is about 2.5 million, then down south South America.

So Ecuador, Peru Chile and Argentina host a lot.

Some others on Europe like Spain.

But we have about a million in the United States.

>>I want to talk a little about your work with Casa de Venezuela and how you've service some of the immigrant community, but I also want to want to bring up some current events.

Obviously, you recently had a U.S.

military intervention in Venezuela, which took away President Maduro and arrested him, but also left his vice president in place.

This was done for reason of narcotics and other things.

At least that's wha the Trump administration said.

I know the Venezuelan population, it seems, welcomed Maduro's departure.

How is the community feeling today, though, with his vice president still in place?

>>That created a lot of confusion in the population because there is several sentiments and, some people react with, some level of understanding that the first steps that need to be taken over, but some others feel frustration.

So that's the kind of sentiment mix that we are suffering right now.

I think that the decision to look for a stabilization of the country and then proceed to check the economic perspective and in third place, formalize a transition, those three, points are the basic steps to get the country back to normal and have democracy again.

>>So a lot of the Venezuelan, the exodus of the population began with, with Hugo Chavez, government, which preceded Maduro.

Maduro was, of course, the vice president for for Chavez.

Where is the community in Central Florida when it looks at Venezuela's future?

What is it hope for?

>>Maduro was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He was not Vice President Chavez speak.

Some other people as VP and them.

But when he got sick and the last day he was in Venezuela, it was in a press conference saying that Maduro was the guy that people has to elect and accept as president.

Maduro never was elected in a fair election.

Some people reject to call him president.

But, the realit is that he handpicked a person as he's VP and that's Delcy Rodriguez is the person that is right now in charge.

And part of the confusion, the Venezuelan population is is suffering is how come somebody that was not recognize a formerly president, including the United State, never recognized Maduro as formal president, how they now I agree on putting that VP again handpicked by Maduro as the person in charge of the government.

Now, that is because the Constitution, the Venezuelan constitution says that the VP should take a position in the absence of the president.

That Constitution also says that the VP has to call new election within a period of 30 day is not realize elections in 30 day is called today election that will be in three months eight months.

But before a year.

>>You just you just don't know at this point where things are going.

>>We might expect before February 3rd that election can be go or tell the people that there is an agreement o that different factors in there, including the opposition led by Maria Corina Machado that there is an agreemen on when the elections will be.

>>Is there a surprise in the community that Maria Corina Machado did not assume power, that the United States didn't work closer with her?

>>I don't think it was any surprise, but I support that decision on the United States because, according to what happened with previou opposition leaders in Venezuela, that we love it today but hate them tomorrow.

That was the projection that Maria Corina Machado couldn't suffer.

If taken power months ago.

So, I think the best thing that happened to her is that the transition set up by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to be in three steps can help her, either because the last election was won on July 28th, 2024, or if the country called to a new elections.

I got no doubts that Maria Corina Machado will be elected president because, I mean, she did no participate in the 2024 election because the electoral board controlled by the regime did not allow her to to be candidate.

>>Are the political parties that exist in Venezuela, strong enough to to run viable campaigns right now?

I know opposition to Madur is one thing, but having parties with defined policies and ideologies is different.

>>Yes, but the majority of the political parties are, or these ministries don't march.

I mean, right now you can call them mini parties.

However, the movement led by Maria Corina Machado, Vente Venezuela.

We consider them a party, but they are not formally a party, just a movement because the government, the regime never legalized the movement as a political party.

>>So there's a lot of work to be done.

>>Absolutely >>In this process.

>>Absolutely.

>>So that's one of the situations facing that.

That's on the minds of the Venezuelan population.

In the United State that population is also dealing with immigration crackdown fro from the Trump administration.

Tell us how that is affecting the Venezuelan population in particular.

>>Terrible because we always have hope.

Venezuela all we have been people of la and order, hard working people.

Now because I'm a Venezuelan, I might say that.

But the reality is I came to this country for a second time in my life 36 years ago.

I did not leave Venezuela because any political issue, I just left Venezuela because of my family.

My mom and two sisters were previously living in Orlando, and that's wh one day I decide to move with my own family, my wife and my kids.

Now, 23 years ago, we create Casa de Venezuela, and it wa not easy for political reasons.

We create that as a freelance job because and since then we have been taking care of humanitarian situation.

But also I layer with the political situation in the country.

We have been organizing trips to move to New Orleans to vote and participate in different location on elections.

And why Louisiana?

Well, because those were the last consulate close to Florida was established, because it's very important to mention that right now, there is no diplomatic relationship in between Venezuela and United States.

We don't have embassy.

We don't have consulates.

Fortunately, we have friends like the late consul from Mexico, Juan Sabines that used to open doors in the Mexican consulate for Venezuelans and the Dominican Republic and some other countries like Colombia, that has a consulates in here in central Florida and gave us some sort of assistance, especially because, I mean, if you got some problems to get a way to go back to the country because there is not also direct flights in the in betwee the United States and Venezuela.

And those people has given us a hand on that.

>>Whe you started Casa de Venezuela, it is a philanthropic organization.

What are some of the services and needs that were identified that the population needs?

>>Because of the political turmoil have been different.

Seasons in Venezuela have been shortages.

A shortage of food or shortage of first aid needs for for instance.

And then w we were together with a program that is called Humanitarian Aid Program for Venezuela.

And it was created ten years ago and we started working with them.

So the program established in some location you need to send is first a process.

Some of the time you need to send food, some other time you need to send money.

So it varies the different situation and it's important.

Recall also that we got the pandemic times with Covid.

And there was also another occasion where we had to help the people there, send a mask that we did and, some other location we have been sending material for hospitals because there is lack of prescriptions, lack of hospital beds, and we send that to different hospitals in, in Venezuela.

>>That's excellent.

The population here, does it see itself as permanent U.S.

residents now going forward, or is there a hope among many that they will be able to go back to Venezuela?

>>We always been involved with, immigration options for, for Venezuela and because of that we all we have been lobbying to get options for the Venezuelan community.

And that's why on April 27th, 2015, we, got the one, congressman signed the first letter, Lake Eola in downtown Orlando asking for a TPS for Venezuela, because we evaluate at that time that it was the best option.

Regardless that the TPS do not put you in a pathway to become permanent resident.

However, it was an option to stay temporarily legally with the within the country.

And that is because not this administration, not the previous administration but several administrations had been putting aside the immigration situation of several countries including Venezuela, and that's why there is like a congestion on hope and processing.

The different option number one, the asylum petitions had been so so slow.

But on the other hand on the petition asylum petition, you'll find out that 92% of the cases are denied.

And when somebody used to call Casa de Venezuela and saying, what can you do?

I mean, I need my interview, well, we normally said, you know what, be quiet and go home.

Because if they called you, the risk is 92% that you can be denied.

Now this create a situation where families are split and they have been seven, eight, nine, ten years without, seeing one to each other because, I mean, you cannot leave the country in those conditions.

And that's why whe the humanitarian parole program for Ukrainian, I went to Washington, DC, invite for a different activity, but I took the chance to knock doors in the White House.

I asked for a humanitarian parole for the Venezuelan community, and they said, I mean, why do you want that?

I say, well, because I mean you gave it to their Ukrainian.

And they said, but they have a wa and I say, Venezuela have a war.

What they don't have is the bombings.

But in Venezuela, that is also a war.

And they say, well, we're going to evaluate that about two, three weeks later, I get a phone call one night, they put the director or Ulises calling me and say, Mr.

Diaz, I want you to see, what's TV a 9 p.m.

The president has something very important that it's going to make you happy and effectively, at 9 p.m., President Biden was announcing the humanitarian parole for Venezuela, but then it was 24,000.

Two weeks later, I was in DC complaining why 24,000?

And they say you guys did not agree with nothing.

What's going on?

Say?

I mean, that is nothing.

I mean, we need we need more.

You'll see that in a wee you're going to have that full.

You need to realiz what is exactly the situation.

A month later, they came in January 5th with 30,000 every month, including Cubans and Nicaraguans.

Because those three countrie has part of family with asylum in the United State and part of their family living overseas and without embassy, without a way to process a visa to come legal to the United State now is very important to mention that no one single person Venezuelan with TPS or with humanitarian parole has said in criminal records.

Okay, I had to say that upfront because the background of every TPS holder or every beneficiary or the humanitarian parole had the background check.

>>Do you get questions from policymakers?

You've gone to Washington many times.

>>Yes.

>>About that very statistic.

>>Yes.

>>Because there's the presumption, of course, it's been fanned.

And some of the anti-immigration movements of criminality and immigration being hand in hand.

>>Yeah.

Yes.

And I sit one day with Maria Elvira Salazar, Republican, and the next day I si with Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democratic representative.

So we basically work with both parties, we try always to be in the center because what is important for us is the benefit for the Venezuelan immigrant, but also the bes for our United State community.

>>William, you mentioned this 92% figure of getting rejected when they-- >>On the asylum.

>>On the asylum question has that stayed consistent or is it gotten higher?

The rejection rate?

>>People says that i a few points higher right now.

>>But it's still been it's always been high.

The rejections.

>>Extremely high, extremely high.

And one of the factors on that is that there is a lot of peopl that really deserve an asylum, but there is a few people that came, apply for asylum and they forgot about the situation.

If you ask immediatel for their phone and you check, you don't see any activity in pro democracy for Venezuelan.

So it is like that.

They fill their application, put it on the drawer and I forget about that.

And the difference of those who want that good approval is because they demonstrate that they're in the United States but are still fighting to gain democracy back in Venezuela.

And the differenc is that one day only one you can what you can see is the wife collection of some sweet or the celebration birthday or going of the kids, but you don't see nothing in reference to the political turmoil.

I have a case of one fellow is a medicine doctor.

He came with a strong background of fighting for democracy in Venezuela, and we did an activity here in Central Florida.

Many years ago with then late Senator Rubio.

And he was sitting next to Rubio.

Well, that single picture when this guy was called for the asylum, help him a lot.

He got about ten page of all what he did in Venezuela.

The officer from immigration told him, I got no way to verify all those hundred pages, but I can see that you are here in this activit with the Venezuelan community.

And, Senator Rubio I'm going to give you the asylum so that that that create a lot of difference.

I mean, when you maintai the fight, you don't have to be on the street creating problem, but you can show that you still are fighting-- >>Constantly engaging which which is, which is, is help helping the effort overall.

>>Right.

Yes.

>>I want to ask of course yo there's a lot of talk about ICE in the country, not just with the Venezuelan community, but broadly.

And a lot of the Venezuelans you're talking about have a legal status, period.

But there's still the fear of overreach by ICE.

Has it affected the community here in Central Florida?

>>Well, it's extremely, extremely hard.

We have a problem even for our meetings.

One of our coordinators, volunteers, coordinator was detained.

He went to his first call for interview.

I mean, to go there because that's the right thing to do.

I he never get out.

APM and I we find out that he was in a detention center in Miami and he spent five months less a week in a different detention, six different detention center.

So he went to his interview, legal, legal, because he got permits to a state in the country, Social security, employment permit.

And he left the building being an illegal.

So instead o be working to make people legal and those who do not deserve i are the one that you taken out.

So you have a mixed and somebody that was employee of the year, mechanical engineer doing a master's degree, you're taking over six different detention center.

And different is so big that myself, I'm a U.S.

citizen and I had to guard first time in my life in 36 year.

I mean, well, 36 year here, 31 as a U.S.

citizen with this on my pocket.

I mean, no way.

And, and a lot of people, mean, born in the United States, having the birth certificate on the purse.

Why?

We never have been underway.

So that is why we call really to ponder the brain of the people that are making this kind of decisions.

>>So, William, you are talking to politicians on a regular basis.

You have a member of Congress, whether it's a Republican or a Democrat.

They say William Diaz.

How can we help the Venezuelan community?

What are what are some of the things you tell them?

>>Well, sometime, sometime I've been discussing things like that.

I will illustrate you with a sample.

I've been so close to Senator Rick Scott.

And he used to be a fan of my radio show.

He was.

We saw a lot of interest in learning Spanish.

He he is today.

He's speaking pretty good Spanish.

And, one case I asked him to agree with Senator Chris Van Holle from Maryland that has a project to make, farmworkers, dreamers, TPS holders with a path to become permanent resident.

It was needed 60 votes at the Senate, and it was 50 votes from the Democrats.

And I ask him to step forward because if he will do it.

Senator Rubio will do it also.

And I did the work to find out that 13 senators on the Republican sid decided not to seek reelection.

So he and Rubio step forward.

We need eight out of those 13.

I guarantee you that we good and got those eight.

He never called Senato Van Hollen because Senator Van Hollen try and he tells me that Senator Scott never did it.

However I recognize that Senator Scott, when he was governor, he did the first step that anybody could do, and he was as governor of Florida, he promote and approve a law that the state of Florida did not perform any business with the regime of Venezuela.

And that was really hard for the regime in Venezuela when that was approved.

And I really applaud him on that.

And I will never forgot that.

I soon follow from Senator Rick Scott.

Senator Rubio vote in the past for the TPS for Venezuelan.

I have a video, the 2019 where he said, I do not understand why the administration Trump number one, never approved the TPS for Venezuelan.

Right now we are trying to find out a way to help Maria Elvira Salaza with what is called dignity law.

Dignity law will provide a path to become resident for TPS holders and for the students, the dreamers case.

And of course, that' with a high cost that you pay.

But is that the reality that can be processed.

And we will bless that.

And the other option is that President Trump last da or his previous administration, he did, DED, is that deferred deportation for Venezuelans.

And right now with all what's going on with ICE, we are asking to give us again a DED.

It's not as good as the TPS, but it's something that he already gave it to u and that will stop deportations.

Any beneficiary of the DED has to prov that he has no criminal records, that you have been submitting your taxes, that you has no criminal record.

And I will add a third one, you need to gave me a reference letter either for employer or to neighbors.

With that, okay.

I can grant you permission to stay.

We're not in position to support any bandit or any criminal, no matter if it is 1 or 2 of it is 100 guys.

>>You have to maintain.

>>Yes.

>>Well, William Diaz, thank you for coming on the show today.

Wishing you the best of luck.

This obviously, the changes in the politics of Venezuela perhaps can creat some opportunities, and I hope you and the community do well in adjusting to them.

>>Thank you for having me.

And, keep the good work.

And have fun with your programs, believe me.

>>Thank you, William.

>>Thank you.

>>And thank you for joining us.

We'll see you again next week on another episode of Global Perspectives.