Venezuela Launches National Search for Backers Following Maduro’s US Detention

Venezuelan officials have been instructed to locate and detain individuals linked to the military operation that resulted in the arrest of Nicolás Maduro.

A decree announcing a state of emergency was enacted on Saturday and made public on Monday. This order mandates law enforcement to “immediately commence a nationwide search and apprehension of anyone involved in promoting or backing the armed incursion by the United States,” as stated in the decree, according to a Reuters report.

The specific charges awaiting those who are apprehended remain unspecified.

On Monday, Maduro appeared in a New York courtroom for the first time, following his and his wife’s capture by U.S. forces over the weekend.

In Caracas, Venezuela, government supporters held effigies from the TV series “Super Bigote,” which features President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, during a protest on Sunday demanding their release from U.S. detention. The Venezuelan government has initiated a directive for the police to pursue and arrest anyone associated with supporting the U.S. military operation that took place over the weekend. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

The Justice Department has charged both Maduro and his wife with narco-terrorism among other crimes.

“I am innocent. I am not guilty of anything that is written here,” Maduro said in court as the charges against him were read. 

A side-by-side photo of President Donald Trump and Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. (Joe Raedle/Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)

In Maduro’s absence, Delcy Rodríguez, his former number two, has been sworn in as the interim president of Venezuela. Rodriguez, 56, has long been a confidant and backer of Maduro. 

She was the country’s vice president from 2018 through Sunday. 

Despite denouncing the U.S. military operation, Rodriguez said in a Sunday social media post that the country aspires towards balanced and respectful international relations between Caracas and Washington. 

“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” she wrote.