{"id":13191,"date":"2026-02-23T18:06:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T18:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=13191"},"modified":"2026-02-23T18:06:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T18:06:51","slug":"venezuela-demands-immediate-release-of-maduro-from-us-custody-us-venezuela-tensions-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=13191","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela demands immediate release of Maduro from US custody | US-Venezuela Tensions News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Venezuela\u2019s foreign minister describes President Nicolas Maduro\u2019s abduction as a \u2018political operation\u2019 and notes that the country must resolve its own matters.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Venezuela\u2019s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil has demanded the immediate release of the country\u2019s President Nicolas Maduro, who was abducted last month in a violent raid orchestrated by the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Gil demanded Maduro\u2019s \u201cimmediate release\u201d by the US government, alongside his wife, Cilia Flores.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Maduro and Flores have been in prison in New York since the January 3 operation, awaiting trial on drug trafficking and so-called conspiracy to commit \u201cnarcoterrorism\u201d charges. Despite the whirlwind operation, relative calm has prevailed in Venezuela since, while faultlines in the country\u2019s leadership remain active under the helm of interim President Delcy Rodriguez.<\/p>\n<p>Rodriguez has shifted from early defiance to a more conciliatory tone towards the administration of US President Donald Trump, in contrast to Gil, who has levelled harsher condemnations of US actions.<\/p>\n<p>Gil on Monday, addressing the UN council, said the US operation, which he called a \u201csystematic campaign\u201d, resulted in more than 100 deaths. He described Maduro\u2019s abduction as a \u201cpolitical operation disguised as a legal debate\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these events of early January, however, the foreign minister stated that Venezuela is not in a state of war with the country that he said has been attacking it for the past decade, noting the US blockade and sanctions imposed on Venezuela for years in \u201cfull view of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) described Venezuela\u2019s economic and humanitarian situation as \u201cquite fragile\u201d, pointing to an estimated triple-digit inflation and a sharply depreciating currency. Sanctions have played a role \u2013 but so has government mismanagement.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, the US Department of the Treasury announced it was easing some sanctions on Venezuela\u2019s energy sector, the largest reprieve since Maduro\u2019s abduction.<\/p>\n<p>Gil further stated that Venezuela has begun a process of reconciliation and political coexistence following recent developments in the country, and emphasised that Venezuela will resolve its issues internally, referring to the recently approved 2026 Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence.<\/p>\n<p>The law, which was signed on Thursday, could free hundreds of people jailed over protests and political unrest dating back decades. This week alone, it granted amnesty to 379 political prisoners. The new regulation marks a considerable shift for the country, which has long denied holding any political prisoners.<\/p>\n<p>Gil, in his address to the UN rights council, stressed that human rights should not be used as a pretext for war and that the UN forum must remain impartial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHuman rights should not be instruments of political war; they should not be selective, and they should not depend on ideological alignment,\u201d said Gil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile some countries are subjected to constant and disproportionate scrutiny, tragedies of enormous magnitude, such as the devastation of the Palestinian people, do not receive the firm and proportionate attention demanded by international law and human conscience,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Gil also urged the council to end all punitive measures against Venezuela and to respect the sovereignty of states.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Venezuela\u2019s foreign minister describes President Nicolas Maduro\u2019s abduction as a \u2018political operation\u2019 and notes that the country must resolve its own matters. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Venezuela\u2019s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil has demanded the immediate release of the country\u2019s President Nicolas Maduro, who was abducted last month in a violent raid orchestrated by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}