Nicolás Maduro’s son and serving lawmaker, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, has urged supporters of Venezuela’s ousted leader to mobilise nationwide following his father’s removal by United States forces and subsequent detention in New York.
In a defiant audio message circulated on social media on Sunday, the 35-year-old called on citizens to occupy public spaces and demonstrate solidarity with the political movement associated with his father.
“You will see us on the streets, standing with the people, raising the banner of dignity,” Maduro Guerra declared in the recording, which his aides later confirmed as authentic. He dismissed any suggestion that the family or their supporters had been weakened by recent events.
“They want us to look defeated, but we will not show weakness,” he said. Maduro Guerra is among six people, including his father and stepmother, former first lady Cilia Flores, named by US authorities in a sweeping ‘narcoterrorism’ case.
The swift and carefully coordinated operation that led to the capture of the former Venezuelan leader from his location in Caracas has fuelled speculation of internal betrayal.
Alluding to these claims, Maduro Guerra said accountability would eventually emerge.
“History will reveal who the traitors were. The truth will come out,” he stated.
The lawmaker, who is the biological son of the deposed president, expressed confidence that Chavismo, the socialist, anti-imperialist ideology founded by late President Hugo Chávez, would endure despite the setback.
On Sunday, small groups of pro-Maduro demonstrators were seen on the streets of Caracas, waving Venezuelan flags and displaying images of the former president.
Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were taken into US custody following a pre-dawn operation on Saturday and transferred to New York, where they are currently being held.
The former president is expected to appear before a federal court in New York on Monday for formal arraignment on the charges against him. Meanwhile, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president.
