\u201cWe are well, steadfast, serene and in constant prayer,\u201d say ousted president and wife in post on X
\n CARACAS
\nOusted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, captured by US forces in a nighttime raid in January, said Saturday that they feel \u201csteadfast\u201d and \u201cserene\u201d in their first social media post from prison.
\nMaduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for almost three months, after American commandos snatched the pair from their compound in Caracas, and they have reportedly been without access to the internet or newspapers.
\n\u201cWe are well, steadfast, serene and in constant prayer,\u201d the pair said in a message shared on Maduro\u2019s X account, though it was unclear who made the post on their behalf.
\n\u201cWe have received your communications, your messages, your emails, your letters and your prayers. Every word of love, every gesture of affection, every expression of support fills our souls and strengthens us spiritually.\u201d
\nA source close to the Venezuelan government told AFP that Maduro reads the Bible and is referred to as \u201cpresident\u201d by some of his fellow detainees in Brooklyn\u2019s Metropolitan Detention Centre, a federal prison known for unsanitary conditions.
\nHe is only allowed to communicate by phone with his family and lawyers for a maximum of 15 minutes per call, the source added.
\nHis son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, known as \u201cNicolasito,\u201d has said in public appearances that his father is well, calm, and even exercising in prison.
\nMaduro, who has declared himself a \u201cprisoner of war,\u201d had not spoken since being arraigned in New York on January 5.
\n\u201cWe feel a deep admiration for our people\u2019s ability to remain united in difficult times, to express love, awareness, and solidarity, within Venezuela and beyond our borders,\u201d the couple added in Saturday\u2019s post.
\nDuring a one-hour hearing on Thursday, the judge rejected a defence motion over Maduro and his wife\u2019s apparent inability to afford their legal bill without aid from the Venezuelan government. Neither spoke during the court appearance.
\nMaduro has pleaded not guilty to charges of \u201cnarco-terrorism\u201d conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
\nThe January operation deposed Maduro, who had led Venezuela since 2013, forcing the oil-rich country to largely bend to US President Donald Trump\u2019s will.
\nDelcy Rodriguez, who had been Maduro\u2019s vice president since 2018, is now at the helm and grappling with leading a country saddled with the world\u2019s largest proven oil reserves but an economy in shambles.
\nSince Maduro\u2019s ouster, Rodriguez has enacted a historic amnesty law to free political prisoners jailed during his tenure and reformed oil and mining regulations in line with US demands for access to her country\u2019s vast natural wealth.
\nThis month, the State Department said it was restoring diplomatic ties with Venezuela in a sign of thawing relations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe are well, steadfast, serene and in constant prayer,\u201d say ousted president and wife in post on X CARACAS Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, captured by US forces in a nighttime raid in January, said Saturday that they feel \u201csteadfast\u201d and \u201cserene\u201d in their first social media post from prison. Maduro and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-539028","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n