11 days after his arrest in his own country and the world is still watching very closely what words are spoken by the current (or not) president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. He has broken the silence from a US prison.
“We are fine”. That is what he said. eleven days after the attack carried out by the USA in Caracas and the subsequent capture of the head of government, with all the tension that has been experienced these days between the Caribbean country and Washington. The judicial process is already underway and whatever happens, it is clear that nothing will ever be the same again on the global political chessboard.
Nicolás Maduro has spoken
The message was not delivered by him, it was delivered by his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, who assured that both his father and Cilia Flores (the First Lady, who was also detained on the 3rd).
Nicolás Maduro Guerra has assured that his parents are “whole” (very visual, by the way), strong in spirit and not losing their calm. According to what he said, the lawyers have confirmed this and asked the Venezuelan people not to fall into sadness.
From Caracas, state television has published these words and has used the usual tone, resistance, strength, and that the idea of Maduro continues to be a leader even though he is behind bars.
The official version: excessive use of force
From the leader’s circle it is insisted that the US operation was “disproportionate”. In their account, it is not about justice, but about brute force. An attempt to silence him because they could not defeat him by other means.
Maduro, according to this version, considers that his detention is not just a normal criminal matter, but part of a much larger political conflict between two countries that have been confronting each other for years. Maybe he is referring to imperialism, who knows.
“Prisoner of war”
In his first appearance before the Southern District Court of New York, Maduro has pleaded not guilty and has defined himself as a “prisoner of war” to appeal to international law.
Narco-terrorism
He was charged in 2020 in a case based on a DEA investigation, now he is charged with serious crimes related to narco-terrorism, cocaine importation and weapons offenses. The defense, as expected, speaks of political persecution.
The accusations against him
According to the accusation, Maduro would have been at the head of the so-called Cartel of the Suns, an alleged drug trafficking network formed by high-ranking Venezuelan military officials, The judicial documents maintain that from Venezuela routes would have been facilitated to introduce huge amounts of cocaine into the United States.
The figures that appear in those reports estimate between 200 and 250 tons of drugs per year that entered the USA only in 2020. But the latest data coming from Washington is that the Cartel of the Suns does not exist as a structured criminal entity. Maybe the United States made it up?
More political context
Relations between Caracas and Washington have been tense for years, especially since the Donald Trump era, is it because Venezuela has a lot of oil or because Trump really cares about the Venezuelan people?
For the government and most of the Venezuelan people, this is a political war. For Trump, although they talk about crimes against international organized crime, it is the first piece of the puzzle of his imperialist ambition.
Not to mention that the detention of a head of state in his own country, and the 80 victims that followed the US attack in Caracas are a diplomatic attack that nobody is talking about.
Reactions, support and many unknowns
One can be against what has happened without having to elevate the figure of Maduro, in Venezuela there are daily calls for resistance and messages of support. Not many details have been given about the conditions of detention or about the next steps.
What is going to happen now?
It is not known, nobody knows what Trump’s next step in Venezuela will be or whether he will eventually also shake Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, with whom there has been some back and forth. For now, from prison, the Venezuelan (ex?) president calls for the resistance of his people.