(AFP) – Several hundred supporters of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro staged protests in the capital Saturday, a week after his capture by US forces, as the interim government moved to revive ties with Washington and slowly released some prisoners. Waving flags and placards with the face of the mustachioed ex-leader and his wife Cilia, around 1,000 protesters rallied in the west of Caracas and a few hundred in the eastern Petare district — far smaller than demonstrations Maduro’s camp has mustered in the past.
“I’ll march as often as I have to until Nicolas and Cilia come back,” demonstrator Soledad Rodriguez, 69, said of the presidential couple who were taken by US forces to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking charges. “I trust blindly that they will come back — they have been kidnapped.” Notably absent from the rallies were top figures from the government, which has said it is reviving diplomatic contact with Washington and discussing possible cooperation on US President Donald Trump’s oil demands.
Interim president Delcy Rodriguez instead attended an agricultural fair, where she vowed in televised comments she would “not rest for a minute until we have our president back.” The other two hardline powers in the government, Interior Minister and street enforcer Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, were also not seen at the demos.
**- Diplomatic maneuvers -** Maduro claimed he was “doing well” in jail, his son Nicolas Maduro Guerra said in a video released Saturday by his party. Despite the shock of his capture during deadly nighttime raids on January 3, signs emerged Friday of cooperation with Washington after Trump’s claim to be “in charge” of the South American country. Rodriguez said Venezuela would deal with the United States through “the diplomatic route,” and Washington said US envoys visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening their embassy.
The Venezuelan government did not respond when asked by AFP whether the US officials had met with Rodriguez. She has pledged to cooperate with Trump over his demands for access to Venezuela’s huge oil reserves. But she also moved to placate the powerful pro-Maduro base by insisting Venezuela is not “subordinate” to Washington. The US embassy in Colombia warned Saturday that “the security situation in Venezuela remains fluid” and advised Americans to leave the country “immediately” as commercial flights become available.
**- Anxiety over prisoners -** Anxious relatives meanwhile camped outside jails, awaiting the promised release of political prisoners. Rodriguez’s camp on Thursday began freeing prisoners jailed under Maduro, saying a “large” number would be released in a gesture of appeasement that Washington took credit for.
“Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners. Thank you! I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done,” Trump posted Saturday night on his Truth Social platform. However, prisoners’ rights groups and the opposition said only 21 people had been released by Saturday evening, including several prominent opposition figures. Rights groups estimate there are 800 to 1,200 political prisoners in Venezuela.
Families held candlelight vigils outside El Rodeo prison east of Caracas, and El Helicoide, a notorious prison run by the intelligence services, displaying signs with the names of their imprisoned relatives. “I am tired and angry,” Nebraska Rivas, 57, told AFP, as she waited for her son to be released from El Rodeo. “But I have faith that they will hand him over to us soon,” she said, after sleeping on the pavement outside the prison for two nights.
**- Oil talks -** Following Maduro’s capture, Trump vowed to secure US access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. The White House said Trump has signed an emergency order protecting US-held revenues derived from sales of Venezuelan oil, preventing them from being seized by courts or creditors. Chevron is currently the only US firm licensed to operate in Venezuela, through a sanctions exemption. At a White House meeting on Friday, he pressed top oil executives to invest in Venezuela’s reserves, but was met with a cautious reception. Experts say Venezuela’s oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.
– Javier TOVAR
© 2024 AFP
