After eight months: first photos of Maduro from prison
The photos were distributed on his official account and accompanied by a message to his grandchildren: "Standing firm, with hearts full of your love." His lawyers are preparing to demand the dismissal of the indictment and to challenge the legality of the operation in which he was captured. In the US, there has been no official comment yet on their publication or authenticity.
For the first time since he was captured in Caracas about eight months ago, photos of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro were published today (Sunday) from the detention facility in Brooklyn where he is being held.
The photos were distributed on his official X account and on Venezuela's state Telegram channels, and were accompanied by a message in which they are presented as a "small gift of love and hope" to his grandchildren. Both photos are stamped with the date June 25, 2026.
In both photos, Maduro is seen standing in a gray tracksuit and white sneakers, smiling and raising his hands in a victory sign. In one of them, he is wearing glasses, and in the other, he is holding them in his hand.
The message accompanying the photos stated on his behalf that he and his wife, Cilia Flores, are "standing firm, with hearts full of your love, the same love that reaches us as a prayer, as a constant action, as solidarity, and as true support." Maduro does not write the posts published on his accounts himself, and he has no direct access to the internet while in detention.
Maduro, 63, was captured on January 3 in a night raid by Delta Force on his hideout in Caracas, along with his wife, against the backdrop of extensive American attacks throughout Venezuela.
Two days later, he was brought to the federal court in Manhattan, where he pleaded not guilty, identified himself to the judge as the president of Venezuela, and claimed he had been kidnapped. He is charged with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons offenses.
His former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, has since been sworn in as interim president and has begun a rapid process of rapprochement with the US.
Since then, Maduro has been brought to court only a few times. At the last hearing, held on July 22, Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the trial start date for June 1, 2027, at the request of both the prosecution and the defense.
Maduro's lawyers intend in the meantime to demand the dismissal of the indictment and to challenge the legality of the operation in which he was captured.
