GOP Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar taunted the Maduro regime after authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations with a firework show at an infamous prison described as a torture center.
"The true Christmas for Venezuelans is coming. Not the farse that narco-dictator Maduro is making up to stay in power," Salazar said in a social media publication.
La verdadera Navidad de los venezolanos ya se aproxima. No la farsa que inventa el narco-dictador Maduro para aferrarse al poder.
— María Elvira Salazar 🇺🇸 (@MaElviraSalazar) October 2, 2025
The Maduro regime launched fireworks from El Helicoide, a Caracas detention facility widely documented as a site of torture. The building, headquarters of the country's intelligence service SEBIN, continues to hold dozens of political prisoners.
Videos and photos shared on social media showed the fireworks display lighting up the complex, which human rights organizations describe as one of Venezuela's most notorious prisons. The celebration coincided with the government's declaration of October 1 as the official beginning of the holiday season, a decision made by Maduro back in early September and which he has done for several years.
Maduro defended the move at the time as a way to protect what he called the Venezuelan people's "right to happiness and joy," while many described his decision to be a way to distract from tensions between Caracas and Washington following the deployment of U.S. military forces in Caribbean waters.
Tensions escalated further in the past hours, with President Donald Trump reportedly declaring cartels as unlawful combatants and said the U.S. is now in a "non-international armed conflict" with them.
The Associated Press detailed that the decision was notified to Congress members on Wednesday. Some lawmakers briefed on the decision, however, voiced their frustration at the Pentagon's inability to provide a list of the designated terrorist organizations in the conflict, the report added.
The outlet also noted that senators believe the decision shows the administration is seeking a new legal framework for its actions in the Caribbean, which includes several strikes against vessels it has claimed were carrying drugs and drug-traffickers.
Moreover, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez claimed that five U.S. jets approached the country's coastline on Thursday, an action he described as "military harassment."
"I am denouncing this military harassment in front of the world," the official said in a televised address. "This is a great threat."
Padrino didn't specify where the incident took place nor if the country's authoritarian government will respond to the sorties.
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
