Protests Erupt in Caracas Demanding Release of Nicolas Maduro

Protests were held in Caracas on Sunday in support of Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolas Maduro, with demonstrators demanding the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, who they claim are being held by the United States.

Supporters included members of pro-Maduro armed groups and motorcycle riders, many of whom waved Venezuela’s national flag in red, blue, and yellow. A man wearing a red flannel shirt held a placard reading “Free Our President.” His shirt bore an image of the late leftist leader Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s predecessor and political mentor.

Another banner read, “Venezuela is not a colony of any country,” a reference to remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that Washington would “administer” Venezuela during an unspecified “transitional period.”

Maduro is scheduled to be presented in a New York court on Monday, where he faces charges related to cocaine trafficking in a so-called “narco-terrorism” case filed by U.S. authorities.

A 56-year-old protester, Nairda Itriago, expressed anger, calling Trump the real “drug terrorist.” She alleged that U.S. airstrikes carried out to disable Venezuela’s defense systems during Maduro’s arrest killed “innocent people.”

Venezuelan hospitals have declined to disclose the number of casualties from the overnight strikes. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said that a “large part” of Maduro’s security team was “coldly executed,” adding that soldiers and civilians were also killed, though he did not provide figures.

However, a medical organization reported that approximately 70 people were killed and 90 injured.

Protesters in Caracas speculated that someone from Maduro’s inner circle may have betrayed him, enabling U.S. special forces to enter the country’s largest military base and detain the former president.