A professor from the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba stated to students that Nicolás Maduro could end up becoming “the next Mandela”, during a university event focused on analyzing the situation in Venezuela following the U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of the Chavista leader.
The statement was made during a "youth dialogue" held in tribute to 32 fallen soldiers in Venezuela, according to a report released by the state-run channel TurquinoTevé.
According to the report, the panel was composed of Fran José Cabrales (historian from the University of Oriente) and Orelvis Carneros Rojas, director of the Department of Marxism, who presented "various topics" regarding the current situation in Venezuela.
In that context, the professor suggested that there are "two fundamental keys" to interpreting what happened: geopolitics and domestic politics in the United States, framing the events within what he described as a "slippage" of U.S. hegemonic power both globally and domestically.
During his speech, the speaker compared Maduro's case to that of Manuel Noriega (“they want to hunt for Noriega because of Maduro”) and suggested that the trial or treatment of the Venezuelan leader could become “complicated” for Washington, even stating that “possibly Mandela will emerge,” referring to a potential symbolic transformation of the detainee.
The material also cites statements attributed to Maduro in which he presents himself as a "prisoner of war" and mentions the Geneva Convention, arguing that there would be no "jurisdiction" to judge him for being president.
In the same event, Donald Trump's performance was characterized not as "a show of strength," but as "a show of fear," according to the participants.
An absurd comparison
Nelson Mandela is remembered as a central leader in the fight against apartheid, imprisoned for 27 years for opposing an institutionalized racist regime. Following his release, he negotiated a democratic transition and promoted a reconciliation agenda that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
Nicolás Maduro comes to power as the heir of Hugo Chávez and leader of Chavismo, and has concentrated power through the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
His government has been marked by extreme economic collapse, hyperinflation, and a massive exodus of the population, as well as allegations of electoral fraud and serious human rights violations.
Although regime-aligned actors may attempt to present him as a figure of resistance against the United States, symbolically linking him to Mandela as a “political prisoner” and a victim of imperialism, this narrative obscures the allegations of internal authoritarianism.
As a positive moral or historical equivalence, the comparison does not hold up when considering the data on democracy, human rights, and the institutional legacy of each.
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