Venezuela’s Maduro Thanks Supporters In First Online Post From US Prison

caracas : Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were captured by US forces in a night raid in January, said they felt “determined” and “calm” in their first social media post from prison on Saturday.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been held in a Brooklyn prison for almost three months after American commandos kidnapped the duo from their Caracas compound, reportedly without access to the internet or newspapers.

The duo said in a message shared on Maduro’s

“We have received your communications, messages, emails, letters and prayers. Every loving word, every loving gesture, every expression of support fills our souls and strengthens us spiritually.”

A source close to the Venezuelan government told AFP that Maduro reads the Bible and is referred to as “the president” by some of his fellow detainees at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, which is known for its unsanitary conditions.

The source added that he was allowed to communicate with his family and lawyers by phone for up to 15 minutes per meeting.

His son Nicolas Maduro Guerra, known as “Nicolasito”, said publicly that his father was well, calm and even exercising in prison.

Maduro, who declared himself a “prisoner of war”, has not spoken since he appeared in court in New York on January 5.

“We have deep admiration for our people’s ability to hold together in difficult times and express love, awareness and solidarity within Venezuela and beyond our borders,” the couple added in Saturday’s post.

During a one-hour hearing Thursday, the judge rejected a defense request that Maduro and his wife could not afford their legal bills without help from the Venezuelan government. Neither spoke during the hearing.

Maduro has denied charges of “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

The January operation ousted Maduro, who had ruled Venezuela since 2013, and forced the oil-rich country to largely bow to the will of US President Donald Trump.

Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice president since 2018, is now at the helm and is grappling with running a country that has the world’s largest proven oil reserves but whose economy is in shambles.

Since Maduro’s ouster, Rodriguez has enacted a historic amnesty law to free political prisoners imprisoned during his term and reformed oil and mining regulations in line with U.S. demands for access to his country’s vast natural wealth.

This month, the State Department said diplomatic ties with Venezuela had been re-established, in a sign that relations were thawing.