Venezuelan migrants around the world erupted in celebration on 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 7.7 million Venezuelans, or 20% of the population, have left the country, unable to afford food or seeking better opportunities abroad, according to the UN International Organization for Migration.

Neighboring Colombia has received the largest share of the diaspora, with around 2.8 million Venezuelans, followed by 1.7 million in Peru, according to the R4V platform, a group of regional NGOs assisting migrants and refugees from Venezuela........

© The Times of Israel