Thousands March in Venezuela to Demand Maduro's Release

Thousands of supporters of Nicolás Maduro, the former Venezuelan president, marched in Caracas on February 3 to demand his release. The rally was organized by the government, marking one month since Maduro was captured during a US military operation and taken to New York to face drug charges.

The demonstrators, many of whom were public sector workers, carried photos of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who was also detained in the same raid. The crowd, waving Venezuelan flags and wearing red, the color of the "Chavista" movement named after Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chávez, chanted, "Venezuela needs Nicolás."

Nicolas Maduro Guerra, the son of the former president and a deputy in Venezuela's National Assembly, declared, "We have achieved a profound anti-imperialist consciousness." The protesters expressed anger and sadness, with one municipal employee stating that "sooner or later they will have to free our president."

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who has been trying to balance support from both Washington and Maduro's supporters, is under pressure to address Venezuela's crisis. She has already begun releasing political prisoners and is working on an amnesty law. However, the law has yet to be debated in parliament.

Opposition leaders have called for new elections, but for now, the rallying cry for freedom echoes loudly in the streets of Caracas.