Trump visits Venezuelan restaurant in Doral during South Florida stop as Cubans, Venezuelans hope for change

President Donald Trump visited a local Venezuelan restaurant in Doral and spoke to supporters during a South Florida stop.

Trump made an appearance at El Arepazo, a staple of the Venezuelan American community on Northwest 58th Street, on Monday evening.

The president was welcomed by a cheering crowd of supporters inside and outside the restaurant. 7News cameras were rolling as Trump shook hands with supporters and workers at the restaurant.

“So we came to get some food for Air Force One,” said Trump.

Supporters of the president chanted “USA” and were appreciative of the president’s brief visit.

“He took some arepas with him, so I guess he’ll get to try some typical Venezuelan food from a community that has a lot of Venezuelans in it,” said Doral Mayor Christi Fraga.

“To be visited by the President of the United States, that shows that he cares about all of us,” said local business owner Maximo Alvarez.

“He came to say to the Venezuelan people, ‘Hey, I’m here,'” said Mariela Gimenez, President of A Voice for Freedom.

“The energy was great. Donald Trump is always great,” said Mario Martinez Martin, Vice President of A Voice for Freedom. “For us it’s important.”

The appearance at the famous restaurant comes days after his administration recognized current Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez, who was former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s vice president, as the South American country’s new president.

Even though many Venezuelans disagree with Trump’s move, they are hopeful that it is only a transition toward free and fair elections in Venezuela.

“We want to step ahead. We do not want Delcy Rodriguez, we don’t necessarily want Maria Corina Machado, we want institutions, and we want rule of law,” said Gimenez.

The visit came as the president was in town for the annual Republican retreat at his Doral resort.

At the Republican meeting, Trump held a news conference on Monday afternoon and touched on the topic of Cuba.

“It may be a friendly takeover, it may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really, they’re down to, as they say, fumes,” said Trump. “They have no energy. They have no money. They’re in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis.”

The rhetoric was well received by groups like the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, which met Monday evening following Trump’s comments.

“We welcome the sanctions and the pressure put on the regime by the Trump administration. We believe, as the president said today, that all options must be on the table when dealing with a vicious regime like this.” said Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat.

The GOP retreat will continue until Wednesday.