Thousands of Venezuelans march to demand Maduro's release

Thousands of backers of Venezuela's former leader, Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted in a deadly US military operation, marched in Caracas yesterday (3 February) to demand his freedom.

"Venezuela needs Nicolas," chanted the crowd, a month to the day since he was spectacularly toppled and whisked away to stand trial on drug charges in New York.

Interim president Delcy Rodriguez has been walking a tightrope since then, trying to hold on to support from Washington but also from Maduro acolytes in her government and the Venezuelan people.

Several demonstrators, many of them public sector workers, held photos of Maduro and of his wife, Cilia Flores, who was also seized in the US raid.

The march, called by the government, stretched for several hundred meters, accompanied by trucks blaring music.

"These people are not American," said Maduro's son, Nicolas "Nicolasito" Maduro Guerra, a deputy in Venezuela's National Assembly.

"We have achieved a profound anti-imperialist consciousness."

Many protesters waved Venezuelan flags and were dressed in the red colors of the ruling "Chavista" movement named after Maduro's socialist predecessor, Hugo Chavez.

"We feel confused, sad, and angry. There are a lot of emotions," said Jose Perdomo, a 58-year-old municipal employee who also declared his backing "for the decisions taken by our interim president, Delcy Rodriguez."

He added that "sooner or later they will have to free our president."

- 'Prosperous and democratic' -

Rodriguez was a staunch backer of Maduro and served as his vice president.

US President Donald Trump has said he is willing to work with her as long as she toes Washington's line, particularly on granting access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

Under pressure, Rodriguez has started freeing political prisoners and opened Venezuela's nationalized hydrocarbons industry to private investment.

The countries have rekindled diplomatic relations severed in 2019 after Maduro was accused of stealing his first reelection, with American envoy Laura Dogu's arrival in Caracas on Saturday.

On Tuesday, in a video issued by the US mission, she pointed to a three-phase plan for the crisis-stricken South American country, ending in "the transition to a friendly, stable, prosperous and democratic Venezuela."

Rodriguez confirmed the meeting, calling it a "frank conversation."

Freedom 'in the streets'

Earlier on Tuesday, hundreds of university students and relatives of political prisoners also marched in the capital, calling for the quick approval of an amnesty law promised by Rodriguez.

Rodriguez said Tuesday she's working "intensely" on the amnesty law "that would allow us, in this whole period of political violence, of extremism, to carry out a national policy."

The law has not yet come before parliament, whose leader is the acting president's brother, Jorge Rodriguez, another staunch Chavista and Maduro backer.

Opposition deputy Stalin Gonzalez told AFP he expects the first debate on amnesty to be brought to the floor on Thursday.

"I hope that the amnesty opens the door to reconciliation, coexistence, peace and democracy," he said.

Anti-government protests had been rare since the crackdown on demonstrations against Maduro's contested claim to another reelection in 2024.

More than 2,000 people were jailed at the time.

"Freedom is in the streets and no one can stop it!" chanted the crowd.

The opposition in Venezuela has been calling for fresh elections to be held after Maduro's ouster.