MIAMI — Venezuelan artist Pedro Martín didn’t waste any time celebrating Nicolás Maduro’s capture in the way he knows best. So on Saturday, with cans of spray paint, he headed to Wynwood, the Miami neighborhood famous for its murals.

When Martín saw the photo of Maduro in handcuffs, he knew that would be the subject of his mural. So he portrayed the dictator frightened, diminished, wearing the tracksuit seen in the first image the White House shared.

Behind Maduro, huge and with a boot that looks ready to step on him, Martín’s trademark angel appears in the mural. This time it represents the Venezuelan people, painted in the three colors of the flag — yellow, blue, and red — and includes a phrase with deep meaning for Venezuelans: “Abajo cadenas,” which is part of the national anthem, "Gloria al bravo pueblo."

“My angel is a symbol of light, of hope; look, it’s breaking some chains. That means tyranny is falling,” Martín said.

The 34-year-old artist, who has lived in the United States for four years, has painted more than 80 murals across South Florida — on hotels, in stores, and at events like Art Basel and Miami Music Week—and has collaborated with fashion houses including Louis Vuitton.

The Maduro mural, located in a parking lot across from the Casa La Rubia brewery on Northwest 25th Street, has been met with excitement by Venezuelans, who have taken photos and videos and shared them on social media.

“Just as I’m painting here, I know many Venezuelans feel the same as I do,” Martín said, viewing art as a way to contribute “a small grain of sand to my country’s freedom,” since he’s far from Venezuela and can’t take to the streets to protest anymore.

Before leaving Venezuela in 2017, Martín took part in the 2014 popular protests, where he was hit by tear gas. His brother spent nearly two months in La Pica prison in Maturín, Monagas state, for expressing his opinions in the streets.

“I feel that now the real change is coming to Venezuela, the true transformation, and it’s not only important that the leaders leave, but that each of us contributes our grain of sand to want to be better in absolutely every aspect,” Martín added.

The mural, a form of resistance

As soon as the artist shared the Maduro mural on his social networks, the video went viral. A short time later someone sabotaged it. They threw paint over the phrase “Abajo cadenas” and tried to erase Maduro’s face.

“It could have been someone who shares Maduro’s ideals, someone who was angry to see this,” Martín said, immediately repainting the vandalized section of the mural.

“I will restore it as many times as necessary,” Martín said. “And if they do cover it, I’ll make an even nicer one.”

Street art is a form of resistance for Martín, who started leaving his mark in Caracas at 13 doing graffiti. He hopes some of the murals he painted on Isla Margarita have been preserved.

In Venezuela, art was a hobby for him, but after he left for Mexico — where he had a bad experience and was extorted — he says he rediscovered his purpose in his first passion.

“Art saved my life,” Martín said.

A joyful, democratic Venezuela

If you take a stroll through Wynwood, you’ll find several of his angels, said Martín’s girlfriend, Vada Tortolani, also a painter, who left Venezuela as a child and hopes to return.

“I’d like Venezuela to be like the one my grandparents and my father tell me about,” said the 27-year-old, who would like to see a joyful, democratic country.

“With a new government we’ll be full of hope, and change will be inevitable,” Martín says. “Little by little we’ll begin to see economic change, changes in society, and the way we treat one another — with joy, just like many years ago.”

For the artist it’s important that institutions change, that there is security in the country, and that people aren’t afraid on the streets or merely trying to survive.

Martín said he prefers not to get involved in political parties, but he acknowledges following the leadership of María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, who won the majority of Venezuelan votes in the July 28, 2024, elections.

“I’ve listened a lot to what their plans are for the future, and honestly we have to trust,” Martín said. “I fully trust they are the right people and will take the country down the best path.”

Martín dreams of making real a message he received while meditating: creating a foundation to help children.

“I’ve realized that art saves many lives. I want a project for children, maybe taking it to places with fewer resources, like Venezuela, having them paint and perhaps bringing those works to Miami.”

At 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, Martín will be painting a mural at Casa La Rubia, 55 NW 25th St. His Instagram profiles are @art_marthi and @marthi_art

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