CARACAS: Thousands of supporters of Venezuela’s former president Nicolas Maduro filled the streets of Caracas, calling for his release one month after US forces captured him in a military operation and transferred him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. The march highlighted the mounting political pressure on interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, who has struggled to balance ties with Washington while retaining support from Maduro loyalists.
Crowds of demonstrators, many of them public sector workers, carried photos of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who was also taken in the US raid. Trucks blared music as protesters dressed in the red of the ruling Chavista movement waved Venezuelan flags and chanted “Venezuela needs Nicolas.” Maduro’s son, Nicolas “Nicolasito” Maduro Guerra, a deputy in the National Assembly, told the crowd that Venezuelans had developed “a profound anti-imperialist consciousness.”
Interim president Rodriguez, once Maduro’s vice president, has faced a delicate balancing act since assuming power. She has freed political prisoners and opened Venezuela’s state-run oil industry to private investment under pressure from Washington. US President Donald Trump has said he is willing to work with her if she grants access to Venezuela’s vast energy reserves.
Diplomatic ties between Caracas and Washington, severed in 2019, have recently resumed with the arrival of US envoy Laura Dogu. In a video message, Dogu outlined a three-phase plan aimed at steering Venezuela toward “a friendly, stable, prosperous and democratic” future. Rodriguez confirmed the meeting, describing it as a “frank conversation.”
Earlier in the day, hundreds of students and relatives of political prisoners also marched in the capital, urging swift approval of an amnesty law promised by Rodriguez. She said she is working “intensely” on the legislation, which parliament has yet to debate. Opposition deputy Stalin Gonzalez expressed hope that the law would pave the way for reconciliation and peace.
