Venezuela: Imprisoned in the United States, Nicolás Maduro and his wife say they are strong and serene

Nicolás Maduro, the ousted President of Venezuela, and his wife Cilia Flores, who are currently imprisoned in the United States, are maintaining a confident stance in their public statements. Taken on January 3 in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, during a dramatic American operation, they both expressed feeling “strong and serene” on Saturday.

“We are doing well, we are strong, serene, and in constant prayer,” they said in their first message since their incarceration. The message was shared on social media by their loved ones, on the eve of Holy Week, a significant period in this mostly Catholic country. On January 10, Nicolás Maduro had already indicated that he was “doing well.”

“We have received your communications, messages, emails, letters, and prayers,” they added. “Every word of love, every show of affection, every expression of support fills our soul and spiritually strengthens us.”

The former Venezuelan strongman and his wife were arrested during a nighttime American operation in their palace. They have been held in a high-security prison in the New York borough of Brooklyn. Facing drug trafficking charges, the couple briefly appeared in an American court in Manhattan on Thursday but did not speak.

While in detention, Nicolas Maduro has no access to newspapers or the internet but is allowed to speak on the phone with his family and lawyers for 15 minutes, according to a source close to the leader.

Nicolas Maduro had not spoken since his initial appearance in New York on January 5. Defiant, he presented himself as “the sitting President of the Republic of Venezuela,” “kidnapped” by the United States, defining himself as a “prisoner of war.”

Since then, his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, had reassured that his father is doing well and exercising in prison. He is entitled to one hour of daily outdoor time.