Monday, August 31, 2026 - Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has posted photos online that appear to have been taken inside a US detention center months after his capture.
Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has declared he
is "standing firm" in a series of photographs that appeared to have
been taken inside a US detention centre months after his capture by American
forces.
Mr Maduro and wife Cilia Flores were captured in a
night-time US military operation in January and transported to detention in
Brooklyn, New York
The Trump administration accuses the duo of facilitating
drug trafficking and firearms offences harmful to the US, which both Mr Maduro
and Ms Flores deny.
On Sunday, local time, Mr Maduro said in a post on X that
the photographs were "a small gift" for his "grandsons and
granddaughters, boys and girls, and all of the noble people that love
us"."I want you to know that we are standing firm, with a heart full
of your love," he said.
"Infinite thanks for each word, each gesture, each
blessing".
In the images, Mr Maduro wears a grey tracksuit, white Nike
running shoes and a pair of glasses while smiling and making peace signs.
Camera data attached to the images showed they were taken on
the evening of June 25, a day after Venezuela was struck by two devastating
earthquakes in one of the country's worst disasters in more than a century.
The death toll from those quakes stands at more than 6,500,
according to figures released by President of the Venezuelan National Assembly
Jorge Rodríguez.
The ABC confirmed the images were not created using
artificial intelligence, but was unable to independently verify the location or
time they were taken.It remains unclear who took the images of Mr Maduro or how
they were released from inside the US detention centre.
Maduro's online post also came two days after his successor,
interim President Delcy Rodriguez, announced a "historic" oil
agreement allowing the United States to operate oil fields in Venezuela.
Ms Rodriguez is governing under intense pressure from the Trump administration and says she has "chosen the path of diplomacy" with the US because she wants Venezuela to become an "energy powerhouse".
The "historic" agreement is set to last for 25 years and see Venezuela increase its output to 1.5 million barrels per day.Mr Maduro does not have access to newspapers or the internet in prison, but he is allowed to speak by telephone with his family and lawyers for about 500 minutes a month, with a maximum of 15 minutes per call, according to AFP citing a source close to the former leader.
His son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, says his father is in good
shape and spends his time studying the Bible. Mr Maduro's post included a Bible
passage that quoted the Apostle Paul on the concept of a victory "thanks
to the ones who loved us" and a pledge that "Venezuela will be
reborn".
"I believe that he was prepared for this," Mr
Maduro Guerra told Spanish news outlet El Pais in May. "I know that he
feels that his victory is that he is still alive". Mr Maduro and his
wife's trial in the US will begin on June 1, 2027, a federal court in
New York announced last month.
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