Thousands flock to International Drive to protest crucial Venezuela presidential election

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County deputies forced thousands of Venezuelans packed in an IHOP parking lot Sunday to vacate after they flocked to International Drive in Orange County to protest against the dictatorship in Venezuela.

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No arrests were made after law enforcement forced the protest to end.

For over seven hours, the intersection of International Drive and Westwood Boulevard became the central hub for people across Orange County to celebrate freedom and solidarity against the country’s current strongman Nicolas Maduro.

“For me, it’s a dream. It’s a dream we all share, something that we have been looking forward to,” said protester Luis Matos.

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People walked around and cheered, some wrapped in Venezuelan flags, others holding colorful posters, demanding freedom.

Protesters told Channel 9 the location was chosen because it was centrally located for people to go to and because the area has two Venezuelan restaurants that serve the county’s native food.

The protest surrounds the county’s most consequential election in a quarter century. Protesters speaking out demanding a fair election.

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It’s [kind of] hard to communicate sometimes because people don’t understand. People haven’t had the experience of dictatorship in their lifetime. So for a group of people like this. I mean, you can see the community all around, all the people protesting. Obviously, this is for a good cause,” said Gabriel Lugo, a protester.

The protest lasted until 11 p.m. after deputies forced the crowd to leave the area.

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