Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, removed from power during a US operation, published photographs from the New York prison where he is currently being held. In two photographs posted on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the thinner politician is dressed in a gray tracksuit, smiling and showing a gesture of peace and victory.
Maduro was captured by the US military along with his wife Celia Flores and sent to trial in the US on charges of drug trafficking, narco-terrorism and illegal arms trafficking. The couple were denied bail until their trial begins in 2027.
“A small gift of love and hope. I am sending these photographs as a small gift to all my grandchildren, boys and girls, and to all the noble people who love us,” Maduro said in a message in X.
The ex-president also expressed gratitude to his supporters, noting that he and his wife “stand strong with a heart full of love” that they give him. Maduro and Flores earlier in court refused to plead guilty to the charges against them.
The photographs are dated June 25, according to the markings in the lower right corner. Maduro was last photographed after his arrest in January. A photograph of the Venezuelan leader, taken in a helicopter on the way from Caracas to New York, was published by US President Donald Trump.
Maduro's gray Nike tracksuit then became a meme on social networks. In new photographs, the 63-year-old politician appeared in similar, but not the same, clothes. In one full-length photograph he is also wearing glasses, and in another, a half-length portrait, he is holding them in his hands. Maduro, judging by the photographs, was able to maintain his signature image in an American prison – he has the same haircut and mustache.
Maduro and his wife were photographed by the media earlier this year while being transported to court, but photography was prohibited during the hearings themselves. The next hearing in the Maduro case, which will give an official start to the trial, is scheduled for June 1, 2027. Preliminary hearings will begin in November.
