Key takeaways:
- Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are detained in Brooklyn on drug trafficking and firearms charges; both deny the allegations and are scheduled for trial on June 1, 2027.
- The photos were published Sunday but appear to have been taken June 25, one day after earthquakes killed more than 6,500 people in northern Venezuela.
- Interim President Delcy Rodriguez announced an oil deal that U.S. officials say gives the U.S. government 55% control of a joint venture involving Venezuelan oil reserves.
Nicolás Maduro released his first photos from U.S. detention Sunday, saying he and his wife are “standing firm” as they await trial in New York on drug trafficking and firearms charges they deny.
The former Venezuelan leader posted two images on Telegram, and Al Jazeera reported they also appeared on X. The photos show Maduro in a gray tracksuit, flashing peace signs with both hands. He appears to have lost weight since U.S. forces seized him and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas in January and took them to the United States.
“I am sending these photos as a small gift to all my grandchildren, to the boys and girls, and to all the good people who love us,” Maduro wrote in Spanish. “I want you to know that we are standing firm, with our hearts full of your love.”
He added: “We will remain strong, calm and confident: God is with us. God will provide. Venezuela will rise again.”
The photographs were published Sunday, but camera data and timestamps indicate they were taken June 25, one day after twin earthquakes killed more than 6,500 people and caused widespread destruction in northern Venezuela. AFP attempted to contact the Brooklyn detention facility to ask whether the photos were authentic and authorized, Al Jazeera reported, but did not immediately receive a response.
Maduro and Flores are being held in a Brooklyn jail. U.S. prosecutors say Maduro took part in a conspiracy to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States by working with Venezuelan law enforcement to help drug kingpins. Both Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty. Their trial is scheduled to begin June 1, 2027, a federal court in New York announced in late July. They face potential life sentences if convicted.
“I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” Maduro said in Spanish at his arraignment in January, according to CBS News.
The message appeared two days after interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s successor, announced what she called a “historic” oil agreement allowing the United States to operate oil fields in Venezuela. President Donald Trump said Friday the deal gives the United States majority control of more than 60 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves.
A U.S. official told CBS News the arrangement is a “joint project of the U.S. government and an experienced private operator in Venezuela.” The official said the U.S. government will control 55% of the joint venture, divided between equity in the venture and the ability to obtain oil from it at cost.
“One of the things I am going to do with the Venezuelan Oil is fill up the Strategic National Reserves which, because of Sleepy Joe Biden, has been virtually emptied,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social. “The ‘topping out’ process will begin very shortly, and is a Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States.”
Rodriguez, who is governing under heavy pressure from Washington, has said she “chosen the path of diplomacy” with the United States because she wants Venezuela to become an “energy powerhouse.” In a Sunday night address, she defended the agreement.
“As everyone knows, our country holds the world’s largest oil reserves. But having resources underground is not enough,” Rodriguez said. “This agreement is based on a simple premise: each party contributes what it does best. Venezuela contributes oil, its industry, and the experience its workers have accumulated over decades. The United States is providing the necessary capital and technology to recover and develop those assets.”
Maduro does not have access to newspapers or the internet in prison, but he is allowed to speak by phone with family and lawyers for about 300 minutes a month, with a maximum of 15 minutes per call, according to a source close to him. His son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, says Maduro is in good shape and spends his time studying the Bible.
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