Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez demanded Saturday the “immediate release” of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured overnight during a US military operation.
Rodríguez made the demand hours after the capture of Maduro and Flores, carried out during a US operation in Caracas and other parts of the South American country. Washington has justified the action by arguing that the couple and other Venezuelan public figures are responsible for narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and other crimes – charges that Caracas rejects.
“We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, Rodríguez said Saturday afternoon during a session of the National Defense Council that was broadcast by state television network VTV. She called Maduro “the sole president of Venezuela.”
Alongside other senior officials, Rodríguez described the capture of Maduro and Flores as a “kidnapping,” said that violations of international law were committed and accused US forces of having “savagely attacked” Venezuela’s territorial integrity.
The vice president added that the Venezuelan government will issue a decree declaring a “state of external emergency,” which it will submit to the country’s Supreme Court for validation. She called on the public to prepare to “defend” the country, without providing details.
“We are calling for the defense of life. Not a single Venezuelan man or woman should remain on the sidelines, because the extremists who have provoked this armed aggression against our country will be made to pay by history and justice,” Rodríguez said. She urged other Latin American governments to support Venezuela.
Rodríguez’s remarks contrasted with those made shortly before by US President Donald Trump, who said at a press conference in Florida that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with the vice president and that she, according to Trump, had expressed willingness to cooperate in a new phase for the country.
“There is a vice president who was appointed by Maduro; at this moment she is the vice president. I imagine that the president has just assumed power. She had a conversation with Marco. She said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need.’ I think she was quite courteous. We’re going to do this right,” Trump said.
CNN has contacted the US State Department and is seeking to contact Venezuela’s vice presidency for comment on the conflicting statements.
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