'We will bring Maduro back’: Venezuela ruling party leader in India

He did not know what his beloved country’s fate had in store for the new year, even as geopolitical tensions were rising in its vicinity. But all hell broke loose on the third day of 2026 as America’s Delta Force entered the soil of Venezuela and abducted its president, Nicolas Maduro, and First Lady Cilia Flores, from Caracas to New York, triggering a massive diplomatic and political crisis.

Also read: CPI centenary: What's ailing Indian communists today?

But Capaya Rodriguez, a prominent member of the Latin American nation’s ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela or PSUV), which was founded by its late president Hugo Chavez, and its foreign affairs representative, was unfazed and dismissed the US attacks on his nation’s sovereignty. Amid all this chaos, Capaya Rodriguez is in India.

Venezuela's ruling party leader in Khammam

As he set foot in India to take part in celebrations to commemorate the centenary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Khammam, Telangana, on Sunday (January 18) on the invitation of the party's national general secretary D Raja, the socialist leader stated with an iron-solid resolve, “Venezuela... We know how to protect our country and our president, Maduro. We will go to any lengths and fight for it. We will bring our president back safely.”

Also read: Trump should know why Iran is not Venezuela

In a conversation with The Federal, he spoke about issues related to Venezuela, what happened and what’s coming up next and how did he feel about María Corina Machado, an Opposition leader in the country who recently gifted her Nobel Prize in Peace to President Trump.

'Kidnapping Maduro violates Venezuelans' rights'

When asked about the strikes that the US conducted on Venezuela on January 3, Capaya said America illegally detained and took away Maduro, who he said is still the president of his country.

Corina Machado is a crazy woman. She is a representative of imperialism. That's why she was given the Nobel Peace Prize. We suspect that she also had a hand in the abduction of Maduro.

“Maduro is the person democratically elected by the people of our country. Kidnapping him is a violation of our rights. The people of Venezuela consider the actions of the United States as an attack on their country. They are expressing their protest and stating that they will not accept this,” he said, thanking the international community for extending support to his country.

The leader, who was felicitated at the event in Khammam, said the PSUV has appointed five prominent individuals to work towards the release of Maduro, who was produced along with his wife before a court in the US, where they faced several charges linked to the Trump administration’s accusations against him as a “narco terrorist”.

Also read: Trump’s raw power politics and what it means for India

Capaya said the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, who was earlier Maduro’s deputy, also agreed to the decision. Stopping short of divulging more details, saying the rules don’t permit him to reveal more, the PSUV leader said they would nevertheless bring Maduro back to Venezuela.

It may be mentioned here that Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of the deposed president and a PSUV deputy, recently launched a global diplomatic push to secure the latter’s release. Speaking at a jurists’ meeting in the Venezuelan capital, Maduro Guerra came up with a proposal for a consensus document, condemning what he called an “aggression and kidnapping”, and urged the allies and sympathisers to take it to international bodies and parliaments located across the world.

Accusations against Maduro false: PSUV leader

Capaya also told The Federal that all accusations brought against Maduro by Trump are false. “Our President Maduro has no connection to drug trafficking. All of them are false. The people of our country will not succumb to threats of destruction. That is our history. All our people are with Maduro,” he said.

Following the capture of the Venezuelan First Couple, American prosecutors unsealed a superseding indictment against them, accusing them of an international cocaine trafficking conspiracy that involved machine gun-armed terrorist groups.

Also read: Maduro's capture: Why India prefers not to criticise Trump’s actions

“Nicolás Maduro Moros, the defendant, now sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that for decades has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,” prosecutors said. However, as time progressed, references to drug trafficking went down from Washington’s public messaging, while references to oil, Venezuela’s major resource, increased.

When asked what lies ahead for Venezuela, Capaya said the country will fight for its future and decide it too.

“Efforts are underway for that. Let's see what happens,” he told The Federal.

Capaya slams Nobel winner Machado

The PSUV leader looked visibly irritated when asked about Machado. Going to the extent of calling her a “crazy woman”, Capaya said the latter represents imperialism.

Also read: Explained: Why did US attack Venezuela?

“That’s why she (Machado) was given the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Prize she received was not for working for peace, but for working in favour of imperialist interests,” he said, even expressing suspicion that the leader of Venezuela’s Opposition Vente Venezuela party also had a hand in the abduction of Maduro. Capaya said the recent meeting between Machado and Trump was connected to that.

Delegates from many other countries, including Cuba, Vietnam, Nepal, South Korea and others also took part in the event.

(This article was first published in The Federal Andhra Pradesh)