Venezuela's Maduro thanks supporters in first online post from US prison

CARACAS, Venezuela — Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, captured by US forces in a nighttime raid in January, said Saturday that they feel "steadfast" and "serene" in their first social media post from prison.

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

"We are well, steadfast, serene and in constant prayer," the pair said in a message shared on Maduro's X account, though it was unclear who made the post on their behalf.

"We have received your communications, your messages, your emails, your letters and your prayers. Every word of love, every gesture of affection, 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 "president" by some of his fellow detainees in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal prison known for unsanitary conditions.

He is only allowed to communicate by phone with his family and lawyers for a maximum of 15 minutes per call, the source added.

His son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, known as "Nicolasito," has said in public appearances that his father is well, calm, and even exercising in prison.

Maduro, who has declared himself a "prisoner of war," had not spoken since being arraigned in New York on January 5.

"We feel a deep admiration for our people's ability to remain united in difficult times, to express love, awareness, and solidarity, within Venezuela and beyond our borders," the couple added in Saturday's post.

During a one-hour hearing on Thursday, the judge rejected a defense motion over Maduro and his wife's apparent inability to afford their legal bill without aid from the Venezuelan government. Neither spoke during the court appearance.

Maduro has pleaded not guilty to 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 deposed Maduro, who had led Venezuela since 2013, forcing the oil-rich country to largely bend to US President Donald Trump's will.

Delcy Rodriguez, who had been Maduro's vice president since 2018, is now at the helm and grappling with leading a country saddled with the world's largest proven oil reserves but an economy in shambles.

Since Maduro's ouster, Rodriguez has enacted a historic amnesty law to free political prisoners jailed during his tenure and reformed oil and mining regulations in line with US demands for access to her country's vast natural wealth.

This month, the State Department said it was restoring diplomatic ties with Venezuela in a sign of thawing relations.