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For Venezuelans across Massachusetts, there was one dominant feeling after their home country won its first-ever World Baseball Classic title Tuesday: pride.
“For me, this win is about pride, not politics,” said Katiuska Valiente, a native Venezuelan and the owner of Peka Restaurant in Brighton. “It’s about seeing our flag, our culture, and our people shine on a global stage.”
Venezuela’s 3-2 upset of the United States Tuesday came at a tense political moment between the two nations — just two months after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
But for local Venezuelans, that tension faded as they focused instead on what the win said about the country’s people — and what it meant for Venezuelans living abroad.
“We are people that work very hard, that follow our dreams, and we’re very disciplined, very responsible people,” said Linda Marquez, a native Venezuelan who works for the Veronica Robles Cultural Center in East Boston. “I think that’s something that was shown last night, not just for our country, but international-wide and worldwide.”
The winning run came in the ninth inning, when Venezuelan player Eugenio Suárez scored a tiebreaking double. It marked the country’s first title and made Venezuela the second Latin American nation to win the tournament after the Dominican Republic in 2013.
“It was truly emotional,” Ciro Valiente, a spokesperson for the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts and Katiuska’s brother, said of the moment his native country clinched the title. “So many memories going back home to Venezuela, and I also saw so many people with tears in their eyes because it was a special moment, an unforgettable experience.”
Ciro Valiente was among a crowd of about 200 watching the game at a watch party hosted at Peka, which included a live performance by tambor players — traditional Venezuelan drummers — and cultural food including arepas, pabellón and empanadas.
“Peka became a little Venezuela yesterday night,” Katiuska Valiente said, calling the energy in the restaurant “beautiful” and “powerful.”
The win is an important unifying factor for people in and outside Venezuela, especially as recent tensions have left the community divided. After the U.S. ousted Maduro, Venezuelans in the Boston area expressed mixed opinions, with some praising the removal of the dictator while others voiced doubt the military operation would move the country forward.
“These are uncertain times for Venezuelans, not just in the country, but also the Venezuelan community outside the country,” Marquez said. “This is just something that brings some solace … it brings happiness to Venezuela and our community everywhere.”
Marquez said she hopes the historic win will reframe how people view Venezuelan people, especially in light of recent tensions there and the presidential administration’s rhetoric about Latin America.
“You see an attack on my country and think like, oh, maybe they deserve something like that happening,” she said. “This victory brings the right image of Venezuela and South American people to the world.”
President Donald Trump weighed in on the win on his social media platform TruthSocial, suggesting Venezuela should become the 51st U.S. state late Tuesday night.
Trump initially floated the idea of adding the Latin American nation as a state after Venezuela defeated Italy in the semifinal Monday.
“Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about?” he wrote in a Truth Social post.
Ciro Valiente said that, while sports don’t “exist in a vacuum,” the win felt like “a moment of pride on a global stage independent of politics.”
“We have had a tough relationship with the current administration — I talk especially about the Venezuelan community in the U.S. — because it has been targeting since the very beginning many members of our community,” he said. “What I can say is, we feel good about baseball, and we are focusing on celebrating what happened last night.”
