Related videos:
The dissemination of a letter attributed to Nicolás Maduro, supposedly written from a federal prison in New York, has reignited the political debate in Venezuela.
The message was posted on social media by his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, who stated that the document was written by the former leader while he is held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he faces charges in the U.S. justice system.
The text appears under the title “Prayer for the faith that moves mountains and the action that builds the new, in Christ and Bolívar”, and combines a religious tone with political references to Chavismo, communal power, and symbolic figures such as Simón Bolívar and Hugo Chávez.
In the message, Maduro addresses a kind of political prayer to his supporters and references International Women's Day, celebrated on March 8th.
“Today, March 8th, International Women's Day, we come before God and Bolívar, alongside the beloved communes of Venezuela, to ask the Lord to accompany us on this journey of building Popular Power, crafted by the brave hands of our women and men of the people,” the text states.
The letter also puts forward a slogan that, according to the document, should guide the political action of chavismo in the current context.
“The faith that moves mountains and the action that builds the new, in Christ and Bolívar”, adds the message, which mixes religious references with calls for political organization from the grassroots.
The document also includes a quote from the Gospel of Matthew, used as a metaphor to confront the difficulties facing Venezuela.
"Jesus taught us: 'If you have faith and do not doubt, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move' (Matthew 21:21). Grant us that sincere and popular faith, to move the mountains of difficulties that sometimes hold us back, turning them into a clear path for our homeland."
The letter also invokes Simón Bolívar and refers to his speech at Angostura as a political reference for the country's future.
“Bolívar, in Angostura, showed us the path of action: he called for a popular, just, and moral government that ends oppression and brings peace. Today, the same Bolívar invites us to vote and build, from the community, a government where equality and freedom prevail,” reads the document.
The message concludes with a call for unity among Chavismo around the symbols of the movement:
"May this journey, blessed by God, be a testament to our unwavering faith and our daily struggle. United in Christ, Bolívar, and Chávez, we will make Venezuela a home of love, justice, and popular power. Amen."
Publication by Maduro's son
The letter was released by Nicolás Maduro Guerra, who claimed that the text was sent by his father from the detention center where he is being held.
The publication generated immediate reactions both inside and outside Venezuela.
While sectors aligned with chavismo interpreted the document as a message of political and spiritual resistance, analysts and opposition figures questioned the authenticity of the writing and the impact it could have on the current political situation in the country.
The judicial process in the United States
Nicolás Maduro is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he faces federal charges brought by the U.S. justice system.
Recently, the former Venezuelan ruler asked a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss the charges against him, claiming that the United States government violated his right to due process by blocking funds intended to pay for his legal defense.
His lawyer, Barry Pollack, argued before the Southern District Court of New York that U.S. authorities prevented the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of the former president.
"Mr. Maduro, as the head of state of Venezuela, has the right and expectation that the legal fees associated with these charges be funded by the government of Venezuela," Pollack wrote in court documents cited by the AP.
In a statement included in the file, signed as "Nicolás Maduro Moros," the former president stated: "I have relied on this expectation and I cannot afford my own legal defense."
Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, were captured on January 3 in Caracas and extradited to the United States. Both pleaded not guilty at their first appearance and referred to themselves as "prisoners of war."
The formal accusation charges them with four main counts, including conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism, trafficking cocaine to the United States, and offenses related to war weapons. If found guilty, they could face life imprisonment.
Filed under: