KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories providing solutions and offering discussions on topics of crime and violence. She also covers stories in the Northland. Share your story idea with La’Nita.
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For Freddy Aguilar and his wife, the new year comes with positive change following President Donald Trump's early Saturday morning operation that resulted in the capture and indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges.
"We appreciate all the efforts that Mr. Trump has made for us," Aguilar said.
Aguilar and his wife relocated to Kansas City from Venezuela three years ago. However, the majority of their family remains in Venezuela, which is how they learned about Trump's attack on the country.
"Oh yeah, I was sleeping, it was like 1:30/1:00," Aguilar said. "We started to receive phone calls from our families, our relatives, they were asking, is that true? Is that happening? We're like, what are you talking about? We turned on the TV and started receiving the information."
The news that Maduro and his wife had been captured in a United States operation is something Aguilar calls "great news" due to the years of oppression and corruption the country has faced under Maduro's presidency.
"They destroyed my country in 20 years," Aguilar said. "In my country, there is no infrastructure, there is no hospital, there is no medication, there is no food, there are no groceries. Or if you find groceries, it's too expensive."
Sen. Roger Marshall took to the social media platform X, saying, "Our communities and children are safer at home because of bold leadership like this."
Others say the U.S. should stay out of foreign conflicts.
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver said in a statement, "The president's reckless decision to put our service members in harm's way by attacking a sovereign nation without a coherent rationale or approval from Congress is unconstitutional, destabilizing to the region, and deeply damaging to America's reputation around the world."
Aguilar hopes that with Trump stepping in, this will spark the change the country needs.
"I hope he can take control of that delinquency network," Aguilar said. "Then, in maybe a few years, we can see if it is safe to go back. But as I said, it's going to be hard work."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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