The son of captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said his father sent him a message from a U.S. prison, calling on the people to trust interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.
Concretely, Nicolas Maduro Guerra said he received a message through his father's legal team, urging the Venezuelan population to "trust Delcy, the team and us."
"We had a message from him and her (Maduro's wife Cilia Flores), saying they are standing firm and strong, that their role in the fight is clear to them and have peace of mind," he added.
"We must stay united and not let anything divide us. They'll try to say things to create confusion, but to that we have to answer with ideological and political clarity."
Maduro has been in captivity in the U.S. since January 3, with the Trump administration saying it will oversee the regime in the meantime, especially with regards to oil production and exports.
In fact, interim leader Rodriguez pushed back against Trump after he shared a manipulated image on Monday portraying himself as the "acting president" of Venezuela, saying the country remains under Venezuelan authority and that its elected leader is being held in the United States.
"I've seen caricatures on Wikipedia about who rules Venezuela," Rodríguez said. "Well, here there is a government that governs Venezuela. Here there is an interim president, and there is a president held hostage in the United States," she added.
Rodríguez said her government was reaffirming Venezuela's sovereignty and independence while continuing to pursue international relations "based on respect and within the framework of international law" to defend the country's rights.
Trump shared the image on Truth Social over the weekend which resembled a Wikipedia entry listing him as Venezuela's "acting president" as of January 2026. Trump's actual Wikipedia page does not include that designation. The post followed repeated statements by Trump suggesting the United States is now effectively overseeing Venezuela after Maduro's arrest.
While Rodriguez has condemned Maduro's detention, she has also signaled a willingness to cooperate with Washington, particularly on energy policy and diplomatic engagement. U.S. officials visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening the American embassy, which has been closed since 2019. Venezuela's interim government has described the talks as an exploratory process to restore diplomatic missions.
Trump praised the interim authorities' cooperation over the weekend sayind that "Venezuela is really working out well" and that the administration is "working along really well with the leadership." He also added that Washington's direct oversight of the country could continue: "Only time will tell."
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