Yesterday (Jan 10), at a colorful communal fair in Sucre Municipality—east of Caracas and brimming with the festive energy of Durga Puja pandals or Hari Raya bazaars—acting President Delcy Rodríguez made waves with a bold promise: she won't rest until Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores are back home in Venezuela 🇻🇪. Her fiery speech comes just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on January 9, blocking any court attempts to seize Venezuela's oil revenues held in U.S. Treasury accounts 🛢️.
Rodríguez slammed the U.S. military action from earlier this month—on January 3—that captured Maduro and Flores and flew them to New York. They now face federal charges including narcotics trafficking and terrorism, both pleading not guilty ⚖️. Rodríguez warned this strike will "go down in history as a great stain" on U.S.-Venezuela relations.
Foreign Minister Yván Gil also took to Telegram yesterday to reject the U.S. allegations, stressing that Venezuela has never been a drug-trafficking state and vowing to defend the country's sovereignty "with peace and dignity" ✊.
On the flip side, opposition leader María Corina Machado stirred up curiosity by offering her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump 🏅—an idea the Norwegian Nobel Institute shot down this past Friday, confirming a Nobel can't be transferred. Trump has long eyed the prize for "ending eight wars," and in a Fox News interview this past Friday, he called meeting Machado a "great honor," despite earlier doubting her support inside Venezuela 🎙️.
With tensions rising over oil and political freedom, all eyes are on whether Rodríguez's vow will bring the Maduros home—and how Trump's next moves on Venezuelan oil revenues will unfold. Stay tuned for more updates! 🔥
Reference(s):
Venezuela's acting president vows to free Maduros as Trump eyes on oil
cgtn.com
