Thousands Rally in Caracas to Demand Release of Maduro

Thousands of supporters of Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro marched through Caracas on Tuesday to demand his freedom, roughly a month after he was removed from power and taken into US custody following a dramatic military operation.

The government-organised demonstration saw crowds chanting “Venezuela needs Nicolas” and waving Venezuelan flags as trucks blared music through the streets. Many participants were public sector workers who carried photos of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who was also seized during the US raid.

Maduro and Flores were captured by US forces in Caracas during a January 3 military operation, then transported to the United States to face federal drug trafficking and other charges in New York.

The march extended several hundred meters and reflected the deep divisions in Venezuelan society following the intervention. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, a former vice president under Maduro, has sought to balance maintaining support from Washington while also retaining legitimacy among Maduro loyalists.

Participants expressed mixed emotions, with some feeling “confused, sad, angry,” but reaffirming loyalty to Maduro and backing for Rodríguez’s leadership amid the ongoing political upheaval.

The protest was one of a series of demonstrations by pro-government groups calling for the release of the detained former president and opposing foreign intervention in Venezuela’s internal affairs.